Why the study?
Do CSF 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations distinguish elderly depressed patients who attempt suicide from those who do not?
Do CSF 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations distinguish elderly depressed patients who attempt suicide from those who do not?
CSF 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations may serve as biochemical markers to evaluate suicide risk in elderly depressed patients.
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May support CSF 5-HIAA/HVA as suicide risk markers in elderly depression; leaves open prospective validation before practice change.
CSF findings distinguished 12 elderly depressed patients who attempted suicide from nine depressed patients who did not and from seven normal control subjects. Psychosocial factors and measures of psychopathology did not differentiate suicidal from nonsuicidal patients. Biochemical factors may be important in evaluating suicide risk in the elderly.
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Jones et al. (1990) studied this question.
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