J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2009 Jul-Sep;23(3):133-40.
The individuation of sensitive and specific biochemical markers, easily assessable on large samples of subjects and usefully employable as predictors of severe psychiatric disorders, such as mood disorders, could help clinicians to improve the diagnostic and therapeutic processes facilitating the long-term follow-up. In particular, serum cholesterol levels may potentially be optimal markers due to their relative easy sampling and low cost. The involvement of cholesterol in affective disorders such as Major Depression (MD), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and Bipolar Disorders (BD) is a debated issue in current research. However, current literature is controversial and, to date, it is still not possible to reach an agreement on its possible usefulness of cholesterol as a biological marker of affective disorders. Despite the controversial results on the relationships between cholesterol levels and affective disorders, the majority of literature seems to show a more consistent relationship between cholesterol levels and suicidal behaviour, with few studies that have found no relationships. The aim of this review is to elucidate current facts and views about the role of cholesterol levels in mood disorders as well as its involvement in suicidal behaviour.
鉴定敏感和特异的生化标志物，这些标志物可在大量研究对象样本中进行评估，并可作为严重精神疾病（如心境障碍）的预测指标，有助于临床医生改善诊断和治疗过程，便于进行长期随访。特别是，由于血清胆固醇水平相对容易采样且成本较低，因此可能是最佳的标志物。胆固醇在情感障碍（如重度抑郁症（MD）、季节性情感障碍（SAD）和双相情感障碍（BD））中的作用是当前研究中的一个有争议的问题。然而，目前的文献存在争议，并且迄今为止，尚无法就胆固醇作为情感障碍的生物标志物的可能有用性达成一致意见。尽管关于胆固醇水平与情感障碍之间的关系存在有争议的结果，但大多数文献似乎表明胆固醇水平与自杀行为之间存在更一致的关系，只有少数研究未发现两者之间存在关系。本综述的目的是阐明胆固醇水平在心境障碍中的作用以及其在自杀行为中的作用的当前事实和观点。
