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Until recently, bipolar disorder was just another behavioral problem kids and adults had. According to an article written by Dr. Deb, called Genes and Bipolar Disorder on a study which can be referenced from Molecular Psychiatry, bipolar disorder may be in the genes.
I found this article to be quite intriguing because for one, this hasn't been a known disorder for very long. Secondly, the disorder has recently been thought to be triggered by a chemical disorder as found on Genesis Health. Dr. Deb goes to state, "The National Institute of Mental Health conducted the first genome-wide association study of bipolar disorder and discovered that not one specific gene appears to be necessary or sufficient for disease. Instead, several genes were shown to contribute to the risk of bipolar disorder." This seems to me like a breakthrough on mental health research.
My mom used to tell me all the time that she thought I had bipolar disorder. I would be sitting in her bedroom with her talking or watching t.v. and would just freak out and start saying I needed to move around or do something. Then, I would go work out for three hours in my room and be okay afterwards. It would usually put me in a weird mood if I didn't or couldn't do something. Mom would always tell me I needed to get medicated. She even thought it was a chemical imbalance.
So here we have two different "research projects on bipolar disorder." One says it's in the genes, one says it's a chemical imbalance. Who knows? Maybe it's both. Dr. Deb seems to support the "in the genes" method. She proves this by closing her blog with..."Maybe I should get Tom Cruise a subscription," in reference to the Molecular Psychiatry articles. From his latest actions as I am sure we have all seen in the media, he needs it.
4 comments:
Good Post! This is very interesting to me because both my grandfather and my mother were both diagnosed with the disease. My mother had told me when I was younger that both my grandpa and her started to show signs in their late twenties. This concerns me because I am twenty five and close to the age that she referred to. I believe it is a genetic disease due to the fact that it runs in my family. What I suggest doctors do to try and prove their point other than genetic testing is study people who have the disease and see how many other people in the family also have it. Once that information is found then they could do a genetics pedigree test and find the connections.
Thank you for your post. I like your idea of the genetic pedigree. That could be a break through but you know doctors. They always have to do everything the hard way.
Bipolar disorder is one of the mental health problems that has an extremely high genetic component (85-86% in separated monozygotic twins), and what's worse is that the children of parents who are proband cases for bipolar disorder are placed at even higher genetic risk for developing unipolar depression (moreso than bipolar disorder). It is important to understand that this disorder is so highly heritable. It may also be useful to put the topic into the perspective of the diathesis-stress model.
Good post! I'm not all that familiar with bipolar disorder, but it's always interesting to hear about new research. Keep up the good work!
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