MOLECULAR GENETICS OF BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER

双相情感障碍和某些类型的严重抑郁症在家族中遗传，并且具有很强的遗传性。因此，基因研究可以确定导致这些精神疾病易感性的DNA变化。对家族的遗传联系研究已经确定了这些类型的抑郁症的基因定位在哪些染色体上。然而，借鉴微电子工业的新技术使伦敦大学科勒研究小组和他们的美国合作者能够快速识别至少39个可能导致抑郁症遗传易感性的新基因。我们现在希望通过确定这些基因中增加双相情感障碍易感性的精确遗传异常来发展这项研究。发现的异常将被研究其临床效果及其在精神症状变异性和对药物治疗的反应性中的作用。确定与疾病易感性有关的途径应导致为双相情感障碍和其他类型的情感障碍创造新的治疗和预防策略。

Bipolar disorder and certain types of severe depression run in families and are strongly genetic. Genetic research can therefore identify DNA changes that cause susceptibility to these mental illnesses. Genetic linkage studies of families have identified which chromosomes the genes for these types of depression are localised on. However, new technology borrowed from the microelectronics industry has enabled the University Collele London research group and their USA collaborators to rapidly identify at least thirty nine new genes likely to be causing genetic susceptibility to depression. We now wish to develop this research by identifying the precise genetic abnormalities in these genes that increase susceptibility to bipolar disorder. Abnormalities that are found will be studied for their clinical effects and their role in the variability of psychiatric symptoms and responsiveness to drug treatments. The identification of pathways involved in disease susceptibility should lead to the creation of new treatments and prevention strategies for bipolar and other types of affective disorders.