Boston, MA-An international team of 53 researchers has offered the most convincing evidence so far linking bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, to two chromosomal regions in the human genome. The finding gives scientists refined targets for further gene studies. “Even though bipolar disorder affects millions of people around the world-sometimes throughout their lifetimes-what we understand to be biologically relevant at the genetic level is not terribly characterized,” said Matthew McQueen, lead author and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). “This research can help focus the field to identify viable candidate genes.” The study will appear in the October issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics and is available now in the journal’s electronic edition online at http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/contents/v77n4.html.
