Scientists and researchers are closing in on identifying the genetic cause of bipolar disorder.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) pinpointed 84 potential inherited gene mutations that could provide clues to the most severe forms of the disorder.
Dr. Fernando Goes of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine led the study, which honed in on genetic mutations that are more obscure but might be linked to the more obstinate bipolar type I disorder.
“One thing we learned is that it will take genetic data from at least several thousand more people with bipolar disorder to confirm that these rare mutations do in fact directly cause the disease,” Goes said in a press release. “We are working with the Bipolar Sequencing Consortium to gather more data and collaborators so we can definitively figure out causes.”
Bipolar disorder affects 5.7 million people in the U.S. and features bouts of low, depressed mood, as well as high, overjoyed temperament, sometimes manifest with hallucinations and psychosis.
“We have known since the 1920s that the illness has a large inherited component to it,” Dr. James Potash, chair of psychiatry at the University of Iowa and co-author of the study, told Healthline. “But in the last eight years we have uncovered particular genetic variations that play a role in setting bipolar disorder in motion. These variations explain some of what is going on, but there is plenty still to discover.”
Brain chemistry and inherited traits are also building blocks for the disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“If someone has bipolar type I, the severe form of the illness, the odds that their child will have it are about 5 to 10 percent,” Potash said. “That is 5 to 10 times the rate in the general population.”
The study examined eight families with a genealogy of bipolar disorder through several generations.
They used a technique called next-generation sequencing to inspect the DNA of 36 family members. Next-generation sequencing involves scouring each chemical letter in the DNA and searching for misspellings or deviations from the norm shown in people with bipolar.
Identifying bipolar disorder in your genes and battling the disease early could mean a lot for those with the disorder. Patients could be proactive, and doctors could preemptively strike before any major manic or depressive episodes. But that’s still wishful thinking for now until more research is completed.
