Robin Williams could have been saved by this patent

Suicides are shocking. Not only due to the loss but also because of its sheer unpredictability.

Suicidal signs, if at all present, are subtle and often known only through extensive questioning.

Given the prevailing rate, by the time you finish reading this article, someone in the world would die by suicide. Clearly, whatever methods exist to identify and help people with suicidal tendencies isn’t working well enough.

But that’s about to change for good.

A breakthrough technology coming from National Institutes of Health (NIH) promises to predict if a person is likely to commit suicide based on a blood sample.

The technique involves measuring levels of certain special compounds in the blood, called biomarkers. When the levels of these biomarkers falls below or rises above a certain limit, it indicates a risk of suicide. One such compound is spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase 1, simply called SAT1. Levels of SAT1 greater than 2500 AU indicate a substantial risk for future suicide.

This technique is also useful for determining suicidal risk as a side-effect of antidepressants.

In addition, this technology can also predict other psychotic depressed mood states and monitor response to a treatment for suicidal risk.

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