Dallas Suicide Attorney Skip Simpson Comments On Suicide Prevention Research Findings
Dallas, TX (PRWEB) September 08, 2013 -- Suicide attorney Skip Simpson today commented on a report about recent research indicating that a blood test could help identify patients experiencing suicidal thoughts and ideations.
Simpson said these findings could feasibly change the way mental health professionals approach treating their patients.
According to Science Magazine (“A Blood Test For Suicide?,” August 20), researchers reportedly found “biomarkers” – physical signs – that can be measured in the bloodstream that signal when a person is at increased risk to attempt to die by suicide.
“Although the sample size is small, these recent scientific findings could lay the groundwork for an entirely new method of preventing death by suicide across the country,” said Simpson, who represents families throughout the country who lost loved ones due to the negligence of mental health providers. “If the physical effect of suicidal thoughts and behaviors could be detected in a blood test, it could help mental professionals more efficiently get patients the help they need.”
Science Magazine reported that a long-term study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine focused on patients suffering from bipolar disorder, an at-risk population that’s statistically linked with an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviors. According to the magazine, patients who experienced suicidal ideations had blood samples drawn and analyzed, revealing a common link between these patients an increased level of a protein made by the gene SAT1, which is involved in cellular damage and stress.
The article reports that this protein not only was elevated in subjects suffering from bipolar disorder, but also patients suffering from schizophrenia. Furthermore, the article states that patients who died from suicide had increased levels of the protein in their brain after their death.
“The news of these recent findings is encouraging. It shows researchers are pushing for all the links they can in predicting suicidal behavior. While we’re well aware that further research must be conducted to establish a link between suicidal thoughts and certain chemical properties of the blood, the results of this study could go a long way to save lives,” said Simpson, a suicide attorney in Dallas. “It might be feasible, one day, for mental health professionals to administer a blood test that could ultimately help identify patients with these suicidal ideations. Until that day mental health clinicians must become competent in assessing patients in a systematic manner in order to determine the level of risk of their patients. At this point the field is doing a poor job, with some exceptions, to become competent in suicide assessment.”
About The Law Offices of Skip Simpson
For over thirty years, Skip Simpson has been practicing law, focusing on psychiatric and psychological malpractice, suicide lawsuits, as well as personal injury civil, commercial and criminal litigation. Nationally recognized for his expertise in suicide law, he is considered a pioneer in the field of suicide litigation and has represented families who have lost loved ones to suicide around the country.
If your loved one died by suicide in a hospital or a psychiatric facility, contact the Law Offices of Skip Simpson. Call (214) 618-8222 or visit http://www.skipsimpson.com/contact/
The Law Offices of Skip Simpson
2591 Dallas Parkway, Suite 300
Frisco, Texas 75034
http://www.skipsimpson.com
Jacob M Del Hagen, Big Voodoo Interactive, http://www.bigvoodoo.com, +1 (413) 650-0593, [email protected]
Share this article