Suicide is the third leading killer of 15 to 24 year olds in the United States, behind accidents and homicide, according to the National Institutes of Health. Yet while there is much debate as to the cause of suicide among teens, there has been little investigation of its potential neurobiological roots. Researchers at the University of Illinois‑Chicago and colleagues decided to take a close look at an enzyme called protein kinase C (PKC), which is already known to play a role in mood disorders.

What the researchers wanted to know: Do the brains of teenage suicide victims exhibit different patterns of PKC than the brains of teens who died from other causes?

What they did: Scientists examined the brains of 17 teen suicide victims and 17 teens who died from other, non-psychiatric causes (mostly homicide). They also examined urine and blood samples from the teens.

What they found: The study showed a reduction in PKC activity in the brains of teen suicide victims compared with the control group.

What it means to you: Someday these findings might lead to a test to identify teens at highest risk of suicide. And because some psychoactive drugs already target PKC to treat mood disorders, the same drugs might be prescribed to teens with suicidal behavior.

Caveats: This study looked at brains after the teens were dead; it didn't show that PKC activity is reduced in live teens with suicidal behavior.

Find out more: www.psych.org

Read the article: Pandey G.N. "Decreased Catalytic Activity and Expression of Protein Kinase C Isozymes in Teenage Suicide Victims." The Archives of General Psychiatry. July 2004, Vol. 61, pp. 685-693.