Digging Up The Genetic Roots

Entire businesses are dedicated to mapping human chromosomes to identify the genes that cause afflictions from Alzheimer to zis- Although scientist  can´t point the finger at a single gene that´s responsible for bipolar disorder indisputable proves that he disorder is rooted deep in the gene pool. Check out the following statistics:

· Between 2and 4% of the population has bipolar.
· Two or three percent of the population has bipolar II and even larger percentage is thought to have Cyclothymia disorder.
· I families in which a member gets diagnosed with Bipolar I, immediate family members (mom, dad, brother or sister) have a 7 to 10 percent higher risk of developing bipolar disorder than someone in the general population.
· An identical twin has a 60 to 70 percent chance of having Bipolar 1 if the other twin has it.
· A fraternal twin has a 10 to 15 percent chance of having Bipolar I if the other twin has it (The percentage is slightly higher than the risk for other immediate family members)

No single gene is the sole culprit that causes bipolar disorder, intensive and varied research studies have yielded unclear and mixed results, due to several factors.

· Multiple genes appear to be involved in causing bipolar disorder, and they overlap with genes suspected of causing other psychiatric disorders, including unipolar depression and schizophrenia.
· If bipolar disorder were 100 percent genetic, 100 percent of identical twins with bipolar disorder, which isn´t the case. Studies must look for factors that “turn on” the bipolar genes.
· Multiple disorders (from different problems in different parts of the brain) are likely to contribute to the symptoms doctors collectively refer as to bipolar disorder. This means the genetic search is actually exploring several disorders. This means the genetic search is actually exploring several disorders rather than just one. The people under the microscope may have a range of bipolar subtypes, making the results confusing and inconsistent.

Source: Bipolar Disorder, Camila Flink, MD , Joe kraynak