Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 12:appineuropsych20250006.
doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20250006. Online ahead of print.

Suicidal Ideation in Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Levi Peppel  1 , Ruo-Yah Lai  1 , Christian Rummey  1 , Puneet Opal  1 , Jeremy D Schmahmann  1 , Christopher M Gomez  1 , Henry Paulson  1 , Theresa A Zesiewicz  1 , Susan Perlman  1 , George Wilmot  1 , Sarah H Ying  1 , Chiadi U Onyike  1 , Khalaf O Bushara  1 , Michael D Geschwind  1 , Karla P Figueroa  1 , Stefan M Pulst  1 , Sub H Subramony  1 , Antoine Duquette  1 , Tetsuo Ashizawa  1 , Ali G Hamedani  1 , Marie Y Davis  1 , Sharan R Srinivasan  1 , Matthew R Burns  1 , Nadia Amokrane  1 , Lauren R Moore  1 , Vikram G Shakkottai  1 , Liana S Rosenthal  1 , Sheng-Han Kuo  1 , Chi-Ying R Lin  1
Affiliations

Suicidal Ideation in Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Levi Peppel et al. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. .

Abstract

Objective: Suicidal ideation has not been extensively studied in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). The authors examined whether individuals with SCAs have increased suicidal ideation and related factors.

Methods: The authors studied patients with genetically confirmed SCAs enrolled in the Clinical Research Consortium for the Study of Cerebellar Ataxia cohort, examining the percentages of patients with SCA subtypes 1, 2, 3, and 6 who reported suicidal ideation and comparing findings with nationally representative data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Clinical characteristics that may contribute to suicidal ideation in SCAs, including age, disease duration, sex, ataxia severity, depression, and SCA subtype, were also studied.

Results: Suicidal ideation was present among 12% of 769 patients with SCAs and 4.3% of individuals in the general population recorded in the NSDUH. Compared with individuals in the general population, SCA patients had higher odds of suicidal ideation (OR=2.72). Compared with patients with SCA without suicidal ideation, patients with SCA and suicidal ideation had a longer disease duration (mean±SD=13.1±8.2 years vs. 11.2±9.4 years), more severe ataxia (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia mean score=15.9±8.6 vs. 12.9±7.6), and more severe depression. Having suicidal ideation at baseline significantly increased the odds of suicidality later in the disease course (OR=58.73, 95% CI=36.00-98.40).

Conclusions: Suicidal ideation was more prevalent among patients with SCAs than in the general population. The findings of this study underscore the importance of continuous suicidal risk screening among individuals with SCAs and the need for effective depression management.

Keywords: Cerebellar Disorders; Cerebellum; Nonmotor Function; Spinocerebellar Ataxia; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Rummey reports receiving research funding and consulting fees from Biogen, Biohaven, the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, Larimar Therapeutics, Lexeo Therapeutics, PTC Therapeutics, Solaxa, Solid Biosciences, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Opal reports receiving royalties from UpToDate and serving as site principal investigator of a Biohaven clinical trial. Dr Wilmot reports serving on the Data Monitoring Committee for Larimar Therapeutics and receiving trial support from Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Onyike reports receiving grant support from Alector, Biogen, Denali, and Transposon and serving as a consultant for Acadia, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Neuvivo, Otsuka, and Reata. Dr. Subramony reports receiving trial support from Arthrex, Avidity, Biogen, Biohaven, Fulcrum, Larimar, PTC, Reata, Reneo, and Vertex and serving on advisory boards for Amicus, Avidity, Biogen, Dyne, Fulcrum, and Reata. Dr. Ashizawa reports receiving grant support from Biogen and participating in clinical trials funded by Biohaven. Dr. Hamedani reports receiving grant support from the National Eye Institute, clinical trial support from Biogen and Biohaven, and travel stipends from the Parkinson Study Group. Dr. Burns reports receiving research funding from Cognito Therapeutics. Dr. Rosenthal reports receiving research funding from the Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Family Foundation and the Macks Family Foundation; receiving programmatic support from the Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation; receiving salary support for her role as the site principal investigator for research studies with Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, EIP Pharma, and Pfizer and for serving on the clinical events committee for a research study with Functional Neuromodulation; serving on the steering committees for the Parkinson Study Group’s research study with both Bial Pharmaceuticals and UCB; serving on an advisory board for Biogen Pharmaceuticals, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, and Reata Pharmaceuticals; and serving as consultant for UCB Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Lin reports serving as a section editor for Medscape Neurology Decision Point: Alzheimer’s disease. The other authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

LinkOut - more resources