On the molecular genetics of bipolar disorder

Abstract

A modified genome scan, concentrating primarily on gene rich regions of the genome was employed by this group to search for regions harboring susceptibility loci for bipolar disorder in a panel of 48 Irish sib-pair families (Murphy et al, 2000). Results from this analysis revealed six independent regions on chromosomes 17, 16, 14, 5, 1 and 9 that produced linkage findings considered worthy of further investigation. Based on the strength of the finding and evidence from previously conducted linkage studies, regions implicated on 17, 14 and 5 were selected for further investigation in this study.