Neuropathological Changes in the Brains of Suicide Killers

Biomolecules

卷:11

Filip Bolechała¹  Jarosław Berent²  Tomasz Jurek³  Janusz Heitzman⁴  Paweł Gosek⁴  Tomasz Stępień⁵  Teresa Wierzba-Bobrowicz⁵  Agnieszka Chrzczonowicz-Stępień⁶  Paweł Krajewski⁷ 

[1] Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum, 31-531 Cracow, Poland;

[2] Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, 91-304 Lodz, Poland;

[3] Department of Forensic Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-372 Wroclaw, Poland;

[4] Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland;

[5] Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland;

[6] Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 03-815 Warsaw, Poland;

[7] Forensic Medicine Department, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-007 Warsaw, Poland;

关键词: homicide;    suicide;    murderer’s brain;    murder–suicide;    extended suicide;    neuropathological changes;   

DOI  :  10.3390/biom11111674

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Homicide combined with subsequent suicide of the perpetrator is a particular form of interpersonal violence and, at the same time, a manifestation of extreme aggression directed against oneself. Despite the relatively well-described individual acts of homicide and suicide, both in terms of psychopathology and law, acts of homicide and subsequent suicide committed by the same person are not well-studied phenomena. The importance of emotional factors, including the influence of mental state deviations (psychopathology), on this phenomenon, is discussed in the literature, but still there is relatively little data with which to attempt neuropathological assessments of the brains of suicide killers. This paper is dedicated to the issue based on the neuropathological studies performed. Methods: We analyzed a group of murder–suicides using histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Results: The results of our research indicate the presence of neurodegenerative changes including multiple deposits of ß-amyloid in the form of senile/amyloid plaques and perivascular diffuse plaques. Conclusions: Neurodegenerative changes found in the analyzed brains of suicide killers may provide an interesting starting point for a number of analyses. The presence of neurodegenerative changes at such a young age in some murderers may suggest preclinical lesions that affect cognitive functions and are associated with depressed moods.

【 授权许可】

Unknown