 |
CONTACT: August 25, 2003 JUVENILE BIPOLAR RESEARCH FOUNDATION JBRF Seeks Families With Two or More Children With Early-onset Bipolar Disorder PAWLING, NY/August 25, 2003—The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation (JBRF) has funded a major genetics study to search for the genes that cause early-onset bipolar disorder. The genetic basis of the psychiatric disorder will yield critical information needed to understand its impact on the brain’s biology. This will lead to new methods of treatment that can restore brain function in a way not currently possible. The study design chosen by the JBRF is called the “affected sib pair” strategy, This will require mapping the genes of two or more affected siblings—full biological siblings -- who have bipolar disorder from hundreds of families across the nation. Drs. Herbert Lachman and Demitri Papolos, co-directors of the Program for Behavioral Genetics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City are principal investigators in the study. “Affected sib pair studies pose a daunting challenge for most research groups,” says Dr. Demitri Papolos, director of research of the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation. “Such studies require four-to-five-hundred such sibling pairs. But because JBRF has a novel internet-based screening program, two professional Listservs with participating physicians and therapists from all over the world, and a wide-reaching e-mail list, the foundation has been able to identify more than 150 sets of siblings since its recent initiation of the study.” “Using DNA from two or more siblings who are affected by this condition allows us to identify the chromosomal position of genes involved in a particular illness,” explains Dr. Herbert Lachman. “Essentially we look at DNA markers located on every chromosome and determine those that are shared by both affected siblings more commonly than chance would predict. Since siblings are expected to share a marker from one parent 50% of the time, any significant increase above this level would suggest that a chromosomal region in which the marker is found might also contain a gene for a shared trait, in this case, bipolar disorder.” Once the DNA (extracted from white blood cells) is immortalized, a genome-wide screening will begin. JBRF has established a relationship with deCODE, a company headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland that will perform the genotyping. DeCODE operates the largest and most advanced high-throughput microsatellite genotyping facility today. Dr. Jurg Ott, chief of the Laboratory of Statistical Genetics of Rockefeller University and one of the world’s leading statistical geneticists and Dr. Josephine Hoh, research assistant professor also at Rockefeller University, will conduct the statistical analysis. “Finding the genes that are responsible for this condition is the surest route to determining the underlying causes of the illness and will be a major step towards identifying new treatments that work at the source of the illness,” says Dr. Demitri Papolos. If you are a parent raising two or more siblings with the disorder, and you are interested in participating in this very important study, please contact our JBRF Research Project Manager, Amy Ash, at aash@jbrf.org. ABOUT JBRF AND EARLY-ONSET BIPOLAR DISORDER The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation is the first charitable foundation of its kind solely dedicated to research on childhood-onset bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) affects close to 1 million children and adolescents in the United States at any given time. Abrupt swings of mood and energy that occur multiple times within a day, intense outbursts of temper, poor frustration tolerance, and oppositional defiant behaviors are commonplace in juvenile-onset bipolar disorder. These children veer from irritable, easily annoyed, angry mood states to silly, goofy, giddy elation, and then just as easily descend into low energy periods of intense boredom, depression and social withdrawal, fraught with self-recriminations and suicidal thoughts. Recent studies have found that from the time of initial manifestation of symptoms, it takes an average of ten years before a diagnosis is made. Visit the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation at http://www.jbrf.org.
|
 |
The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation Launches Educational Forum for Parents and Educators Time Magazine Tackles Juvenile Bipolar Disorder First Fellowship In Juvenile-Onset Bipolar Disorder To Be Offered Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation To Start First Professional ListServ For Bipolar Disorder Demitri F. Papolos, M.D. to Receive the 2002 Rosenberry Award |
|
Top | Home | About JBRF | About Juvenile Bipolar Disorder | Research Studies
Professional ListServs | JBRF Library | In The News | Make A Donation
Our Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Contact
Web
site designed by flyte new media
email
Web Developer