Bipolar Disorder Genetics?
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Mood disorders are the most common chronic psychiatric disorders in the world and are a leading cause of morbidity. In patients with these disorders, mood can range from elation or mania to deep depression. Patients with bipolar I disorder typically demonstrate at least one major manic episode and usually also a major depressive episode, while those with bipolar II disorder typically show a pattern of depressive symptoms and hypomanic episodes.
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@atharva Many chromosomal regions have shown linkage to bipolar disorder, but meta-analyses of microsatellite marker–based linkage studies have not provided consistent findings of susceptibility regions. Nevertheless, mechanisms behind therapeutic agents used in patients with the disorder have lent support to the possible role of a few different genetic pathways and mutations. Association studies of individual candidate genes have yielded largely mixed findings, but some consistent findings have been reported in a number of genes. For example, the low-functioning variant of a promoter polymorphism (HTTLPR) in the gene coding for the serotonin transporter, the target for serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs, was associated with bipolar disorder in a meta-analysis.