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Lu et al. J Transl Genet Genom 2020;4:203-9  I  http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/jtgg.2020.33                                                    Page 205

                                     Table 2. The associations between suicide and other diseases [5,6]
                               Worldwide; total of 15,629 cases     UK; total of 4,859 cases
                               Mood disorders       35%       Mood disorders         42%
                               Substance disorders  22%       Schizophrenia          20%
                               Personality disorders  12%     Personality disorders  11%
                               Schizophrenia        11%       Alcohol dependence     9%
                               Anxiety disorders    6%        Drug dependence        4%
                                                              Anxiety disorders      3%
                               Other disorders      14%       Other disorders        11%

               environment are also identical to factors behind mood disorders, including marriage problems and the loss
               of jobs or family members.


               Genetic and epigenetic factors
               As there have yet to be any conclusive outcome on the pathogenesis of suicide, high-quality biomedical
               studies (genetic, molecular and cerebral imaging) are currently utilized for suicide prediction, prevention
               and therapeutics [1,18-26] . It therefore supported the previous, hypothetical link between suicide and mental
               health problems through genetic and molecular analysis. As a result, more information associated with the
               diagnosis of mental diseases can be used for suicide risk prediction, prevention and treatment.


               Mental illness pathology and evolution of diagnostics from history
               Mood disorders are an old and serious type of disease. In an ancient discovery, it was first noticed and
               described by ancient Greek physicians more than 2000 years ago (Hippocrates, 460-377 BC) . As a main
                                                                                              [8,9]
               symptom of mental disorder, suicide has a high mortality rate throughout the world. During Hippocrates’
               time, he found a symptom of “melancholia”, known today as “depression”, and associated the disease with
               human “brain dysfunction”. A thousand years have passed and these statements have not been seriously
               challenged. We believe that this observation is still the core of future scientific and medical investigations.

               The quest for a relationship between suicide and mental illness has lasted from ancient times to the modern
               era. Despite the long history of suicide and mental illness studies, diagnostics are especially limited - act
               and symptoms (suicide attempts and repeats) and is a current area of research emphasis [1,18-26] . Human
               suicides were previously treated and controlled with relevant chemical drugs, such as antidepressants [26-31] .
               However, these drug therapies work like a double-edged sword that has both strengths and weaknesses. To
               overcome this setback, new therapeutics must be made.


               CURRENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN DIAGNOSTICS AND TREATMENT
               Current routine in neuropsychiatric diagnostics
               Formally, diagnostic guidelines have been established and widely applied worldwide. Detailed diagnostic
               information can be found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) from DSM-I
               to DSM-V of mental problems and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) of suicide risk.


               Progress in genetic and molecular technology for diagnosis
               Psychiatric analysis is currently used as diagnostic means by clinicians and psychiatrists. Medications
               are prescribed after analyzing the patient’s psychiatric condition (different types of psychiatric illness
               scoring systems for depressive or manic symptoms) rather than the patient’s genetic predisposition such as
               pharmacogenetics (PG), genomic sequencing, bioinformatic profiling or brain image/visual comparisons.
               They analyze patients through disease symptoms (suicide episodes) that mask the most important parts
               of disease origination and progress (genetic/molecular-based causalities) in a series of pathogenesis
               stages or suicide-induced mortality. Over the long history of suicide and mental illness studies, quick and
               proper diagnosis is key. More recently, the morphological or visual scan of human brains of patients at
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