Rare Genetic Mutations Linked To Bipolar Disorder →

blanddiva11:

ucsdhealthsciences:

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that abnormal sequences of DNA known as rare copy number variants, or CNVs, appear to play a significant role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.

CNVs are genomic alterations in which there are too few or too many copies of sections of DNA. Researchers have known that spontaneously occurring (de novo) CNVs – genetic mutations not inherited from parents – significantly increase the risk for some neuropsychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia or the autism spectrum disorders. But their role was unclear in bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression.

Principal investigator Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego’s Institute of Genomic Medicine, and colleagues, found that de novo CNVs contribute significant genetic risk in about 5 percent of early onset bipolar disorder, which appears in childhood or early adulthood.

More here

Great. I always wanted to be know as a genetic mutant.

Awesome! So when do I get my cool X-Man name, and spandex costume?

5 months ago  /  56 notes  /  Source: ucsdhealthsciences