Cyclical Neuroactive Steroid Changes, Arousal, and Proximal Suicide Risk: An Experimental Approach
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Female suicide attempts occur more often in the weeks before and after menses onset, and have
been linked to ovarian hormone withdrawal. The proposed project will use a two-week
intervention to stabilize hormones in females with recent suicidal thoughts; this paradigm is
a safe way to learn how cyclical changes in hormones and their metabolites influence
short-term risk of suicide. The data acquired will contribute to our understanding of the
biology of acute suicide risk and advance efforts to develop safe and effective treatments
that eliminate predictable monthly worsening of suicide risk in reproductive-age females.