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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The authors of this study had previously identified two different regions of the GRIK4 gene as involved in both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Previous research had also suggested that underactivity in the brain's glutamate signaling system might underlie several different mental illnesses.
This study investigated the gene in more detail.
As it turns out, absence of this section of the gene lowered the risk of developing bipolar disorder, as demonstrated by computer modeling.
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The deletion seems to be responsible for generating more glutamate receptors, thereby increasing glutamate signaling. "If kainate signaling can be stimulated, then that, too, might protect against bipolar disorder, Pickard said. "However, one problem with modulating glutamate activity like this is that too much glutamate is also harmful."
"This paper provides some of the best evidence for a protective genetic variation being involved in mediating risk for developing bipolar disorder," Young said. "Perhaps people aren't just falling out of the nest because they are weighed down by risk alleles, rather, there's probably a kind of balancing act between risk and protective alleles, which will add complexity to trying to understand how genes affect mental illness."
Young also noted that a major drug trials looking at drugs for major depression has identified the GRIK4 gene as an important predictor of how a person will respond to treatment with the antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
"This may be important for bipolar disorder, whose symptoms overlap with major depression," Young said. "There may be interactions between the KA1 receptor and the serotonin system that could be involved in mediating the GRIK4 genetic effects."
More information
The National Institute of Mental Health has more on bipolar disorder.
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