Military medicine
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Veteran populations are exposed to multiple stressful events, and suicidality among veterans is a serious problem. Identifying biomarkers of suicidality may enhance detection, prevention, and treatment. Multiple neurotransmitter systems are implicated in the neurobiology of suicidality, including amino acid neurotransmitter systems. ⋯ In contrast, arginine (nitric oxide [NO] precursor) and citrulline (by-product of NO formation) were nonsignificantly decreased in veterans reporting SI (p = 0.097 and p = 0.093, respectively). Profiling amino acids as possible biomarker candidates for suicidality in OEF/OIF veterans may have clinical utility for identifying suicidal risk. Glutamatergic neurotransmission and NO signaling may be relevant to the neurobiology of suicidality in OEF/OIF veterans.