A GoodTherapy.org News Headline

There are many treatment options for bipolar disorder, which has a negative impact on the health and happiness of scores of people around the world. From distinct medications to various psychotherapy models, options are aimed at helping clients overcome difficulties and enjoy a better quality of life. But a new study carried out at the University of Missouri suggests that for people diagnosed with bipolar disorder between the ages of eighteen and twenty four, “outgrowing” the mental health issue may one of the most promising options. In fact, the study found that almost half of participants in this age range resolved related bipolar concerns in their thirties. The study sheds light on the great ability of people to prevail over mental health challenges.

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A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Jolyn Wells-Moran, PhD, MSW

Persuasive evidence of the same genetic cause for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia was published this month in Lancet, January 16, 2009. The study, conducted by medical scientists in the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet, a Swedish university medical center, included two million families. There has been a growing body of evidence that suggests a link between the disorders, but the researchers claim this study shows positive proof, according to a press release from Karolinska Instituet.

Karolinska’s researchers looked at records of 35,985 people with schizophrenia, 40,487 people with bipolar disorder and their relatives. Both genetic and environmental factors were considered and they found that genes played a remarkably larger part in determining incidence of both disorders than did environmental factors. They concluded that: 1) people with a relative who has schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are at greater risk of developing one of the disorders; 2) people with a relative who has one of the disorders are likely to have another relative with either one of the disorders and; 3) people with schizophrenia are more likely to develop bipolar disorder than others. The study found that sisters and brothers of people with either disorder were nine times more likely to develop bipolar or schizophrenic disorders.

This news is important to researchers who, for decades, have studied the disorders independently of each other. Bipolar disorder is classified as a mood disorder and schizophrenia as a psychotic disorder in the current and previous DSM, the most commonly used diagnostic manual in North America. This information is also likely to be of interest to genetics counselors and families in which one or more members have or had either or both of the disorders.

©Copyright 2009 by GoodTherapy.org All Rights Reserved. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Jolyn and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile.

A GoodTherapy.org News Update Presented by Jolyn Wells-Moran, PhD, MSW

What if we were able to identify who is at risk for development of bipolar disorder even before it occurs? What if we were then able to prevent the illness from ever occurring in those lives? What if we could individualize treatment for bipolar disorder according to the precise genes contributing to the person’s disorder? It now appears that with genetic testing, prevention and better treatment may be attainable in the foreseeable future, thanks to a major study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

The group of neuroscientists initially gleaned data from genome-wide association research and other results on the activity of genes in humans and animals. Alexander B. Niculescu III, M.D., Ph.D., Indiana University, said, “The process was similar to a Google approach, the more links there are to a page on the Internet, the more likely it is to come up at the top of your search list.” In other words, they looked at genes that had already been identified as contributing to bipolar disorder, in the existing research literature, and prioritized them on the strength of evidence. The investigators were then able to create a genetic map of the disorder, a landmark development. Read the rest of this entry