Psychiatrist Dr. Colleen McClung is senior author of research showing that disrupting the gene which regulates the biological clocks in mice makes them manic, with behaviors similar to humans with bipolar disorder.
Photo credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): A new study by scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, US, has found that the bipolar disorder commonly known as manic-depression, may be due to a screwed up body clock.
Mania, in medical terms refers to a severe brain disorder with consequences ranging from hyperactivity and impulsive behavior to grandiose delusions and rage.
The study that was conducted on mice, was carried out by a team of researchers led by neurobiologist Colleen McClung, who believes that it might help in the development of better and more targeted therapies.
"This should allow us to develop better and more targeted therapies in the future," Live Science quoted her, as saying.
"It has long been speculated that abnormalities in a person's internal circadian clock can contribute to a wide range of disorders, including nearly all psychiatric disorders, sleep disorders, and even some aspects of heart disease and cancer," McClung said.
For about three years, the researchers tested mice with a mutant version of a critical circadian rhythm gene, dubbed Clock.
Their discovery that the rodents are the best lab animal version of human mania seen to date, has led them to suggest that the Clock gene and potentially other circadian rhythm genes are important factors involved in mania.
The scientists noted that the mice with the mutant Clock gene were not only more hyperactive and slept less, but also were more likely to take risks, spending more time in the middle of an open field where they could get snapped up by a predator, and proved less daunted by bobcat urine.
And as is the case with the human version of mania, lithium alleviated the manic-like behaviors in these mutants.
"This mouse allows us the opportunity to discover the mechanisms by which mood stabilizers like lithium lead to their therapeutic effects. This has been somewhat of a mystery," McClung said.
"For certain susceptible individuals, disruptions in normal sleep-wake rhythms or changes in season lead to severe depressive or manic episodes," McClung said.
"Through better understanding of how the circadian system interacts with the circuits that regulate mood, this will greatly aid in our understanding of major depression, seasonal affective disorder, and other psychiatric disorders," she added.
The study appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (ANI)
Have there been studies done in correlation to the sleep and premature births? Both of my sisters are bi-polar. Both were pre-mature 2 1/2 and 3 lbs. As babies they always had nocturnal problems.
One of my sisters accepts the standard medications available and the other refuses. So I have a high interest in your research.
Peggy, 20 Mar 2007
When I first became bipolar more than 46 years ago at the age of 19, the doctors gave me shock treatments. It took years to discover that I was manic depressive and to find the right medicine; lithium worked for a while. Interestingly, even with medicine the symptoms raise their ugly head. I have discovered that cognitive therapy offered the best hope. It has been a rough roller coaster, but somehow I made it and am stronger for it. Today, the medical profession is discovering the disease more quickly and in younger children. It is surprising how many people have it and do not know it; therefore, they do not seek treatment. Many self-medicate with alcohol. Face it and find out or you will suffer needlessly.
Anne, 22 Mar 2007