Bipolar disorder is one of the most common mental illnesses—it affects an estimated 40 million people worldwide, about 2.8% of the population. Bipolar disorder can cause extreme mood swings, and be debilitating without treatment.
In an effort to untangle the mysteries of where bipolar disorder originates, researchers studied the genomes of more than 40,000 people with the condition. When comparing these genomes to those of people without bipolar disorder, the researchers were able to pinpoint 298 different parts of the genome associated with the mental illness. With this better understanding of the genome, better, more targeted treatments for bipolar disorder may be possible.
Joining Flora to talk about this research is Dr. Niamh Mullins, assistant professor of psychiatric genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
Further Reading
- Learn more about bipolar disorder via the NIH.
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Segment Guests
Niamh Mullins
Dr. Niamh Mullins is an assistant professor of Psychiatric Genomics in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, New York.
Segment Transcript
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