Bipolar disorder is a serious mental illness that, when left untreated, can compromise a person’s quality of life. Treatment for bipolar disorder aims to help the individual manage their symptoms and live a healthy productive life, but the available treatments don’t work for everyone. There’s still so much we don’t know about exactly what causes bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. Further research is needed to understand the disease so we can help those who need it. A new breakthrough in bipolar disorder is a great example of how every scientific study takes us one step closer to more effective treatments.
A recent study by Harvard Medical School and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard discovered the first definitive risk gene for bipolar disorder. The study began with researchers comparing the exomes (coding portions of genes) of 14,000 people with bipolar disorder to 14,000 healthy controls. They discovered that people with bipolar disorder are more likely to have certain types of gene variants, some of which had already been associated with schizophrenia. The researchers then incorporated the results of another large-scale study by combining the exome sequences of 24,000 people with schizophrenia with those of 14,000 people with bipolar disorder and comparing them to 14,000 healthy controls.
This research led to the discovery of a rare protein-disrupting mutation in the AKAP11 gene that strongly increases the risk for bipolar disorder. Although the mutation itself is rare and can’t give us a broad scientific understanding of how bipolar disorder works, it does help reveal more about the biological mechanisms of the disease than we’ve previously understood. One key factor that makes this particularly notable is that at the protein-level AKAP11 is known to interact with a molecular pathway modified by the drug lithium, which is one of the few treatments for bipolar disorder. This offers potential insight into exactly how lithium improves symptoms and could lead to better treatments moving forward.
Researchers are now creating cellular and animal models with the gene variant to learn as much as they can about its effects and whether it or other related molecules might help identify biomarkers of bipolar disorder. The information collected from these and future studies will help get us closer and closer to effective diagnosis and treatment for bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.
This exciting new breakthrough in bipolar disorder research serves to remind us of the importance of scientific research. If it weren’t for the tens of thousands of people willing to participate in the above research studies, and the tens of millions who have participated in related studies, we would not be where we are today. As scientists continue to recruit study participants, the hope is that they’ll find more genetic risk factors that further increase our ability to diagnose, treat, and even prevent bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder research study in San Diego
At Synergy Research Centers in San Diego, we’re currently enrolling qualified participants in a 35-day outpatient research study for bipolar disorder. By participating in a research study, you’ll receive medical expert care at no cost to you, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping future generations. You could also gain access to cutting edge bipolar treatments not yet available to the public. If you or someone you know suffers from bipolar disorder, contact Synergy Research Centers at (888) 539-0282 to see if you’re eligible today.