Lost in the Woods

Recently I was informed that my beautiful eldest daughter was diagnosed with biopolar. I guess I am not surprised I always knew there were genetics behind something like there is, just like wiht ADD.

There is a study going on at The Columbia Bipolar Genetic Study. Some of the things mentioned that they have learned thus far are:

Is bipolar disorder a genetic condition?

Bipolar disorder runs in families.

The children of parents with manic depression are at increased risk for developing the disease themselves, even if they are adopted and raised by parents who do not have this condition. This clearly points to the involvement of genetic influences.

Twin studies provide additional support for the importance of genetic factors. The identical twin of someone who suffers from manic depression is at a much greater risk for the illness than a fraternal twin. Because identical twins share all their genes and fraternal twins share only half their genes, this difference in risk highlights the role of heredity as a cause of the disorder.

Do other factors play a role in determining who develops the disorder?

Environmental factors are also believed to play a role in determining who is susceptible to the disease. Such factors may include certain viral infections, toxic agents, and emotional stress.

What is currently known about the specific genes involved?

Because bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is common in the general population, it is believed that several — possibly many — genes are involved in the illness. (About 1% of the population suffer from bipolar disorder, and an additional 10% to 15% have related conditions such as hypomania and depression.)

In recent years, linkage between the illness and genetic markers has been reported by several investigators, but the genes themselves have yet to be isolated.

The Columbia Bipolar Genetic Study has reported a possible marker for the disease gene on chromosome 21. This finding has been reproduced by other investigators.

Other groups have reported possible markers on other chromosomes, including chromosomes 4, 13, 18, and the X-chromosome.

The disease may not be caused by the same gene or genes in all individuals.

Some genes may be involved because they interact with other genes.

Johnny just took his radio apart, again. Maybe he just likes to see how things works. He lines the parts up by size down to counting all the screws and nuts and making sure they were nice and organized on a black piece of construction paper. The parts are all the same apart. Maybe he has a touch of OCD, maybe he just likes to be organized. But after the eleventh time taking it apart and putting it back together again, maybe it is worse. Johnny is eight years old.

Johnny’s parents go to parenting classes, talk to his teachers. All are telling him he probably has ADHD or ADD. They take him to the doctor and he asks both Johnny and his parents a series of questions and decide that ADD is it. He starts taking the medication and ends up not sleeping for a week. Now what? Even the child psychologist insists he is not responding well to the medication. But what if it is bipolar? What a horrible thing to imagine with your child. With the stigma attached to the disorder people do not want to even discuss it. Doctors are reluctant to the possibility even. It is a hard thing to diagnose at a young age, but as a child grows into their teens then the conflicts with puberty conflict the symptoms. Below are a list of both the very common to the rare symptoms.

“Diagnosing bipolar disorder (manic depression) in children is difficult. Early onset bipolar disorder manifests in very different behavior patterns. To further complicate the issue, these symptoms are very similar to other childhood disorders such as ADHD.” (about.com)

So, do not ignore it. Do your research and remember that no matter what, they are your kids and love is the best medicine at times! Read the rest of this entry »