====== A blood test for suicide? ======

[[http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org|Johns Hopkins]] researchers say they have discovered a chemical alteration in a single human gene linked to stress reactions that, if confirmed in larger studies, could give doctors a [[http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/a_blood_test_for_suicide|simple blood test to reliably predict a person's risk of attempting suicide]].

//[[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1892819&resultClick=24|Identification and Replication of a Combined Epigenetic and Genetic Biomarker Predicting Suicide and Suicidal Behaviors]]// -- 
[[http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org|The American Journal of Psychiatry]].


Would this have helped Karen?  When would such test be done?  What happens when the results are positive?  What happens when the results are a false positive?  What happens when the results are negative and there is a suicide?  Paper is behind a paywall so a trip to the [[http://www.franklinlibrary.org|library]] is required to get those answers, if they are answered in the paper.


{{tag>John Hopkins Medicine Suicide Blood Test}}


~~DISCUSSION~~