Does the serotonin receptor gene (rs6313 and rs6314) polymorphism have a role in suicidal attempts?

Suicide is an important public health problem. The aim of the present study is to determine the incidence of serotonin receptor gene polymorphisms (rs6313and rs6314) in patients with a history of suicide attempt by blood sampling and to evaluate whether a causal relation exists between gene polymorphisms and suicide. After obtaining the necessary approvals for the study, we included 178 patients with attempted suicide history admitted to the emergency room between December 14, 2016 and July 31, 2016; 174 control subjects were also included. The blood samples were tested for rs6313 and rs6314 polymorphisms. Among the 178 cases with attempted suicide history, 116 (65.2%) were females and 62 (35.8%) were males. With regard to rs6313 polymorphisms in the case group, 40 cases had AA genotype, 99 had AG genotype, and 39 had GG genotype. In the control group, 38 subjects had AA genotype, 91 had AG genotype, and 45 had GG genotype. With regard to rs6314 polymorphisms, 176 cases in the case group had AG genotype and two cases had GG genotype in the case group, whereas 171 subjects in the control group had AG genotype and three subjects had GG genotype in the control group. The present study did not find any significant association between the incidence of rs6313 and rs6314 polymorphisms and suicidal behavior.

Evaluation of Virulence Factors and Antifungal Susceptibility in Yeast Isolates from Postmortem Specimens.

Invasive fungal infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, especially in cases requiring a prolonged stay in the intensive care unit. A total of 99 yeast strains were isolated from 42 postmortem cases. In this study, virulence factors and antifungal susceptibility of these species were evaluated. The isolates were identified as Candida albicans (54), C. tropicalis (15), C. glabrata (12), C. parapsilosis (6), C. lipolytica (3), C. utilis (3), C. krusei (2), C. kefyr (1), and Cryptococcus neoformans (3). The most commonly isolated species was C. albicans, and no resistant species were determined. Despite the equal number of specimens, no secretion of significant virulence factors was associated with the postmortem specimen in the Candida species. Postmortem fungal investigations in forensic autopsies are useful in explaining cause of death in such cases, also may lead to protocols for the treatment of fungal infections and contribute to fungal pathogenesis and epidemiological data.