A narrative review of astrocytes and suicide in psychiatric disorders

Abstract

Suicide is a real public health problem today, and in recent decades its possible neurobiological basis has been intensively studied. One particular strand of research has focused on suicide deaths and psychiatric disorders, with ample evidence for molecular mechanisms related to astrocytic abnormalities. The scope of the articles and their compilation over a period of many years has resulted in old, current and new knowledge being scattered across a large number of sources. The purpose of this narrative literature review is therefore to bring all this information together and summarize it in a single work that can be useful for those approaching this topic for the first time, for those looking for current evidence, and finally for those interested in exploring new frontiers of research. A comprehensive literature search has clearly shown that there are numerous converging findings indicating astrocyte changes in various biomarkers, particularly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of suicidal individuals suffering from major depressive disorder. There is very little evidence for other brain regions and psychiatric disorders. Although these are preliminary results, they are encouraging and future studies could gradually overcome the limitations in the currently available literature and contribute to a better understanding of the etiopathological mechanisms of the occurrence of some of the main psychiatric pathologies leading to suicide.