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Searching for bipolar genes

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (UPI) -- Johns Hopkins researchers say families with a severe form of manic depressive illness -- psychotic bipolar disorder -- are helping narrow the search for genes that might be linked to the disease.

"Finding a gene for bipolar disorder is like finding a needle in a haystack, but by focusing our search on families with a distinctive form of the illness we were able to pinpoint a region of the genome where disease genes are likely to be found," said lead author of the study, Dr. James Potash.

It is believed certain broad regions of the DNA sequence, especially on human chromosomes 13 and 22, could contain genes that contribute to both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The researchers took blood samples from 65 patients with bipolar disorder and from their extended families.

The 10 families in which three or more members had psychotic bipolar disorder showed strong genetic "linkage" to specific regions on chromosomes 13 and 22.

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