Neuroscientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine "combined data from the latest large-scale international gene hunting studies for bipolar disorder with information from their own studies and have identified the best candidate genes for the illness," the university said Friday in a release.

The findings are published online in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

Lead author Dr. Alexander B. Niculescu III, a practicing psychiatrist and molecular geneticist, said researchers will now work on creating a genetic risk score that can used to identify patients before the illness manifests itself.

Niculescu said genetic testing could also be used in combination with blood biomarkers for the disease to develop personalized treatments.