Editors' note: Risk factors for suicidality in Huntington disease: An analysis of the 2CARE clinical trial

Abstract

In “Risk factors for suicidality in Huntington disease: An analysis of the 2CARE clinical trial,” McGarry et al. reviewed 5 years of data on 609 patients with early Huntington disease included in a randomized clinical trial of coenzyme Q10 and found that time to suicidal ideation or attempt was related to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, antidepressant/anxiolytic use, and previous suicide attempt. Rato and Ferreira question the interpretation and use of the findings by McGarry et al. noting that (1) unstable psychiatric illness was an exclusion criterion for the trial, (2) the frequency of suicide attempts was only 3.4% in the study cohort, and (3) the predictors identified are relevant to the population at large, not just patients with Huntington disease or those enrolled in a trial. McGarry agrees that there are limitations to their findings but notes that it is important to know that standard risks for suicidality persist among patients with Huntington disease. Both McGarry et al. and Rato and Ferreira feel that further research into suicidality and risk mitigation in patients with Huntington disease and patients enrolled in clinical trials is warranted. In “Risk factors for suicidality in Huntington disease: An analysis of the 2CARE clinical trial,” McGarry et al. reviewed 5 years of data on 609 patients with early Huntington disease included in a randomized clinical trial of coenzyme Q10 and found that time to suicidal ideation or attempt was related to depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, antidepressant/anxiolytic use, and previous suicide attempt. Rato and Ferreira question the interpretation and use of the findings by McGarry et al. noting that (1) unstable psychiatric illness was an exclusion criterion for the trial, (2) the frequency of suicide attempts was only 3.4% in the study cohort, and (3) the predictors identified are relevant to the population at large, not just patients with Huntington disease or those enrolled in a trial. McGarry agrees that there are limitations to their findings but notes that it is important to know that standard risks for suicidality persist among patients with Huntington disease. Both McGarry et al. and Rato and Ferreira feel that further research into suicidality and risk mitigation in patients with Huntington disease and patients enrolled in clinical trials is warranted.