Circumstantial evidence for a role of glutamine-synthetase in suicide
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Kalkman, Hans O. (2011) Circumstantial evidence for a role of glutamine-synthetase in suicide. Medical Hypotheses, 76 (6). pp. 905-907. ISSN 0306-9877
Abstract
Suicide occurs during depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy. A common denominator of these disorders is the presence of a brain inflammation. Inflammatory cytokines affect function and expression of the glial enzyme glutamine synthetase and post mortem studies indicate that glutamine synthetase function is suppressed in mood disorders and epilepsy. In a study of schizophrenia brains, the expression of glutamine synthetase was reduced in those cases where the cause of death was suicide. The GSK3 inhibitor lithium, which has a proven efficacy against suicide, increased in an animal experiment the expression of glutamine synthetase. Based on theses data one could reason that suicide may be prevented by centrally acting anti-inflammatory compounds and by GSK3 inhibitors. Since inhibition of glutamine synthetase leads to a deficit in glutamine, and as consequence a GABA deficit, even a simple suppletion of glutamine might help to prevent suicide.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Keywords: | inflammation, suicide, cytokine, glutamine, astrocyte |
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| Date Deposited: | 13 Oct 2015 13:16 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Oct 2015 13:16 |
| URI: | https://oak.novartis.com/id/eprint/3306 |