Unaltered α₂-noradrenergic/imidazoline receptors in suicide victims: A postmortem brain autoradiographic analysis

In vitro quantitative autoradiography of α₂-adrenergic/imidazoline receptors, using [¹²⁵I]iodoclonidine as a ligand, was performed on 24 human brains postmortem. Twelve brains were obtained from suicide victims and 12 from matched controls. We found no significant, region-dependent alterations in the density of α₂-adrenergic receptors in brains of suicide victims as compared to matched controls. We also report age-dependent reductions in binding in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, as well as significant recent alcohol ingestion-dependent reductions in binding in the prefrontal cortex. Sex and time from death to autopsy did not affect iodoclonidine binding in our sample. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V./ECNP.