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Genetic Links With Bipolar Disorder

Due to years of work within the genetic and psychiatric research community, it is now generally accepted that Bipolar Disorder has strong genetic foundations. In fact, since research continues to show an enduring genetic influence, it is presumed that genetics may actually contribute up to 80% percent of the incidence of Bipolar Disorder with environmental factors making up the remaining 20 percent. The difficulty in determining exact genetic links of bipolar disorder, however, lies in the numerous genetic variants involved and, as a result, the need for large samples and long lengths of time in order to isolate even relatively weak genetic associations.

  1. Siblings

    • According to research reported by the National Institute of Mental Health, 80 percent of identical-twin research cases demonstrated that if one twin is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the other twin was too or eventually developed it. The same results were demonstrated in 25 percent of fraternal-twin cases and 15 percent in cases of non-twin siblings.

    Family

    • According to research reported by the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately three out of four bipolar patients will have one or more relatives with similar manic-depression or another severe form of depression.

    Primary Genetic Location

    • As published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (Oct. 2005), an international team performing an extensive bipolar study that has since been sited and confirmed by additional research: it yielded a strong genetic signal for the disorder on chromosomes 6 and 8 of the human genome.

    Other Genetic Locations

    • Research performed by the Indiana University Institute for Psychiatric Research found additional chromosomes that appeared to play an important part in the development of bipolar disorder: having previously identified chromosomes 18 and 21, they added chromosomes 1, 6, 7 and 10.

    Inherited Potential

    • According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (2002), the potential for bipolar disorder to be remitting or unremitting may be inherited: if a bipolar patient has a parent who responded positively to lithium and was able to recover, then the patient will likely respond similarly.

    Considerations

    • Candida Fink, psychiatrist and author of "Bipolar Disorder for Dummies," states that multiple problems in different parts of the brain (inherited or not) are the likely contributors to bipolar disorder, and represent the symptoms collectively referred to as bipolar disorder by doctors and scientists.

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