SYDNEY, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Australian researchers found those with a gene linked to being bipolar, or manic-depressive, are twice as likely to develop the disease.
Scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and University of New South Wales, have discovered the first risk gene specifically for bipolar disorder.
"We are the first group in the world to take a multi-faceted approach to identify a bipolar risk gene -- we used a number of families, unrelated patients, and therapeutic drug mouse models. Each of these three lines of investigation led us to a gene called FAT," said lead author Dr. Ian Blair.
"We know that the FAT gene codes for a protein that is involved in connecting brain cells together, what we need to do now is find out exactly how the it contributes to the increased risk of bipolar disorder."
Bipolar disorder is a major psychiatric illness affecting around one person in every 50 and about 1-in-6 people suffering from the condition commit suicide.
The findings are published in Molecular Psychiatry.
