Cam, Update on genetic research?

Dude, you being "the man in the know" I was just wondering if you had any new input on the progress of the genetic research on depression meds? Do I understand correctly that these meds, if designed correctly will work at the DNA level? If that's true, with everyone's DNA being different, how will a single med work effectively with each individual?

No rush to answer this bud, whenever you have the time. I hope the family is doing well and everybody on my end sends their love. Alyssa says she wants a bear like NaShays...

bp

"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was
'committed'."

bp - What you are talking about is "gene therapy". I don't think that any gene therapy is being done for bipolar disorder. Gene therapy is being done in certain disorders, like cystic fibrosis, but there is something wrong with it; the test subjects keep unexplainably dying.

All the talk about adjusting proteins, enzymes, etc. via playing with genes is still in the beginning stages. I really have my doubts that many disorders will be "cured" by this method; at least in the near future. We just don't know enough about how transcription works, and it will be awhile before we do. The Genome Project was just step one.

As for genetic research in bipolar disorder, right now there are several linkage studies underway, trying to determine if bipolar disorder is a genetic disorder, and if so, how much is controlled by genetics. For the near future, I think that the most that can be gained from genetic research into bipolar disorder is that perhaps soon, we may be able to predict which of an affected parent's children may develop bipolar disorder. This too is still a few years in the future.

The bear has been bought. It is not exactly the same, but it is still a "Bay" bear.

- Cam

<font color=blue>"The minute you or anybody else knows what you are you are not it, you are what you or anybody else knows you are and as everything in living is made up of finding out what you are it is extraordinarily difficult really not to know what you are and yet to be that thing." - Gertrude Stein, 1937</font color=blue>

Hi Cam,

I'm new here and have been reading and doing a little research on bipolar mixed severe and PTD. My 24 year old daughter was diagnoised with these after she tired to kill herself.

I was curious on the research on genitic bipolar. Since I have never known anyone in my family to have this before it just caught my attention. Do they think their could be a gentic link to this disorder in a few cases like familuar ALS. Also, with this research, can one who has begun this chain pass it on their their children?

Yea I'm new and full of questions. lol

Welcome D. - You have to remember that diagnoses, especially psychiatric diagnoses are just guess, derived from combining a number of observed behaviors and fitting them into a preselected category. In North America the preselected categories are published in a guidebook called DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 4). The diagnosis relies heavily upon the psychiatrist's clinical experience, as well.

So, what I am trying to say is, just because your daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it doesn't necessarily mean that she has the classic Bipolar I type, especially since there is no family history of the disorder. The neurochemical breakdown (which essentially is what any mental disorder can be defined as) that is affecting your daughter manifest as symptoms that are similar to bipolar disorder, but the etiology (cause, or location of the neuronal electrical signal breakdown) is different. In other words, different nerve signaling problems can produce similar symptoms.

We do know that bipolar disorder is not a purely genetic disorder. Researchers have proposed other causes, such as birth trauma, viral or bacterial infections, head trauma, nutritional deficiencies, and a number of other potential causes. No one really knows what causes the disorder.

I am almost certain that the genetics of bipolar disorder is not like ALS, which is (I believe) an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. That may not be totally true; perhaps some sub-types of bipolar disorder are due to recessive genes, but I have not seen any literature confirming this.

It is really difficult (if not presently impossible) to determine if the disorder would be passed on by your daughter. The current state of scientific knowledge is still unable to predict anything like this.

I hope that this is of some help. - Cam

<font color=blue>"The minute you or anybody else knows what you are you are not it, you are what you or anybody else knows you are and as everything in living is made up of finding out what you are it is extraordinarily difficult really not to know what you are and yet to be that thing." - Gertrude Stein, 1937</font color=blue>

Thanks Cam for your reply.

It's been a long road of research and no matter which way I turn I get a variety of opinions. I'm sure someone could diagnose me with some sort of disorder because I will research something to death. I want to know the hows and whys and what can I do to fix the thing. The latter the most pressing issue with me.

I've learned that someone who is a drug addict, especially one who is a meth addict can develop something kin to bipolar because of the damaged done to the brain. I've been amazed countless times the diagnosis that has been done on a drug addict going through severe withdrawals. Yes they act like a sever bipolar manic every other name you can think of but I personally think one should wait for the drugs to be out of their system and they begin to adjust to what it's like to live drug free for a while before we diagnose and drug them again.

I've been down this path with one child for the past 10 years but she hasn't manage to stay clean long enough for a true diagnosis.

The reason I ask about Familiar ALS is because that was something that ran in my family for many generations. It broke when it was passed on to my aunt who had no children and not to my mother who has 3. I know a little about how it can be passed on from generation to generation.

I'm very curious about the drugs being given to bipolar that were meant for seizures. Can you explain how anti-seizer medicine benefits bipolar? Is it addictive? Is it forever? Can one be cured of bipolar? Are there case studies of this?

Ok, no more questions. lol

Thanks for the help you've already given to me!
Your time has been greatly appreciated

Chris

Can you explain how anti-seizure medicine benefits bipolar?
• Not really; there are a number of theories, but the best I have heard is that the anticonvulsants interfere with an intracellular energy-producing series of chemical reactions called the phosphoinositol pathway. Most antimania drugs have been shown to slow the rate of the chemical reactions by interfering with one or another of the intermediate molecules within this pathway.

Is it addictive?

•No, absolutely not.

Is it forever? Can one be cured of bipolar?

•Yes, then no. I have not heard anyone with bipolar disorder being really and truly "cured". Medication must be taken for life in better than 95% of cases. The testimonials from that people claim to be cured are misleading. Bipolar disorder is characterized by periods of mania or depression interrupted by periods of relative normalcy of indeterminate lengths of time. The problem with is is that it seems that every "episode" that a person has, the next episode occurs sooner, lasts longer, and is more severe. This theory is known as "kindling"; one episode kindles the next. Although even perfect compliance with medication does not ensure that one won't experience an episode, it is thought that medication decreases the number of episodes in a lifetime, thus slowing kindling because the person has fewer episodes in their lifetime, hopefully slowing kindling.

•I hope that this is of some help. - Cam


<font color=blue>"The minute you or anybody else knows what you are you are not it, you are what you or anybody else knows you are and as everything in living is made up of finding out what you are it is extraordinarily difficult really not to know what you are and yet to be that thing." - Gertrude Stein, 1937</font color=blue>