(glutamate) Countering Brain Chemical Could Prevent Suicides, Research Suggests

[exists]

Researchers have found the first proof that a chemical in the brain called glutamate is linked to suicidal behavior, offering new hope for efforts to prevent people from taking their own lives.

Writing in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, Michigan State University's Lena Brundin and an international team of co-investigators present the first evidence that glutamate is more active in the brains of people who attempt suicide. Glutamate is an amino acid that sends signals between nerve cells and has long been a suspect in the search for chemical causes of depression.

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[foolsgold]

interesting mine must be over flowing with stuff since i was ten

 

[RobotRipping]

that is somewhat interesting. Excess glutamate production happens during benzo w/d and it certainly makes me want to kill myself. Maybe it does other things as well. It'd be cool to have a drug that prevents this from happening, as i'm pretty sure it's not healthy to have excess glutamate. The article does mention that ketamine helps, maybe NMDA antagonists help, in which case i'll have to find some mxe if i ever end up in withdrawal again.

 

[exists]

Sorry to hear about that, foolsgold I hope things start looking up for you. Some more good news, it looks like other drugs are being developed that antagonize the NMDA receptors in the brain without the usual side effects, and they do appear to be working.

I think we'll be hearing about many more heath problems associated with glutamate toxicity in the near future (though much has been known since the 50s). Perhaps the FDA will be forced to reconsider allowing MSG into our food products, or at least force manufacturers to list all sources of glutamate. Glutamate is often unnaturally formed by certain preparation methods, and does not need to be listed according to FDA rules unless added as a pure product. It is my understanding that our bodies produce only what it needs from food proteins: adding it to food is completely unnecessary.

 

[exists]

that is somewhat interesting. Excess glutamate production happens during benzo w/d and it certainly makes me want to kill myself. Maybe it does other things as well. It'd be cool to have a drug that prevents this from happening, as i'm pretty sure it's not healthy to have excess glutamate. The article does mention that ketamine helps, maybe NMDA antagonists help, in which case i'll have to find some mxe if i ever end up in withdrawal again.

Glutamate excitotoxicity also occurs during alcohol withdrawal and after eye injury. I think any NMDA antagonist would help, but timing is important. In this paper, administration of dextromethorphan prior to eye injury prevented secondary damage caused by glutamate excitotoxicity. So it may be the same when going through withdrawals.