Perlegen Sciences finds partner for bipolar disorder study

Results of the study are expected to help guide development of improved diagnostics, therapeutics and more personalized clinical management strategies to combat neuropsychiatric diseases.

DNA samples systematically collected by projects that participated in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Bipolar Disorder Genetics Initiative, and control samples from the NIMH Molecular Genetics of Schizophrenia (MGS-2) Initiative, will be used in this study.

This effort represents a convergence of resources from the commercial, academic, federal and philanthropic sectors aimed at discovering the causes of psychiatric disorders and devising novel treatments.

The collaborators will conduct a comparative study of genetic variation in patients with bipolar disorder (cases) versus matched, unaffected controls. The genetic variants, also called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, will be genotyped in the cases and controls. Validation of results will be conducted in a separate set of bipolar disorder cases and controls. This represents the highest density genome scan of the disorder conducted to date.

The PNDRC, in conjunction with a NIMH-funded Conte Center, has shown differential gene expression in post mortem brain samples from patients who had suffered from mood disorders and schizophrenia. The PNDRC will examine how genetic variations correlate with gene expression changes in neuropsychiatric disorders.

“NIMH is very pleased to be part of this effort to provide resources that will help us understand how versions of genes associated with psychiatric illness work in the brain,” said Dr Thomas Insel, director of NIMH. “The results will ultimately help us improve diagnosis and treatments for bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.”