title: Relationship of N-acetyl-beta- glucosaminidase levels to seriousness of suicide attempts.
abstract: We hypothesized that levels of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) would differ between patients making serious versus nonserious suicide attempts. The levels of NAG from 11 patients hospitalized for serious suicide attempts were compared to 5 patients whose suicide attempts were not rated serious. There was a significant difference in the mean NAG levels of the serious suicide attempters and the nonserious attempters (23 versus 52; p = 0.01). NAG may be a marker for a biological variable that is associated with the seriousness of a suicide attempt.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Garvey
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Underwood
mesh_terms: D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase