Gene Variations Linked To Higher Risk Of Bipolar Disorder

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified small variations in a number of genes that are closely linked to an increased risk of bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly six million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

"Using samples from some 3,400 individuals, we identified several new variants in genes closely associated with bipolar disorder," said Scripps Florida Professor Ron Davis, who led the new study, which was published recently by the journal Translational Psychiatry.
A strong tendency towards bipolar disorder runs in families; children with a parent or sibling who has bipolar disorder are four to six times more likely to develop the illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
While the genetic basis for bipolar disorder is complex and involves multiple genes, it appears to be associated with a biochemical pathway known as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling system. The Davis laboratory and others have previously shown that the cAMP signaling plays a critical role in learning and memory processes. The new study focused on this signaling pathway.
"As far as I know, this has not been done before - to query a single signaling pathway," said Davis. "This is a new approach. The idea is if there are variants in one gene in the pathway that are associated with bipolar disorder, it makes sense there would be variants in other genes of the same signaling pathway also associated with the disorder."
The new study examined variations in 29 genes found in the two common types of bipolar disorder - bipolar disorder I (the most common form and the most severe) and bipolar disorder II. Genes from a total of 1,172 individuals with bipolar disorder I; 516 individuals with bipolar disorder II; and 1,728 controls were analyzed.
Several statistically significant associations were noted between bipolar disorder I and variants in the PDE10A gene. Associations were also found between bipolar disorder II and variants in the DISC1 and GNAS genes.
Davis noted that the location of PDE10A gene expression in the striatum, the part of the brain associated with learning and memory, decision making and motivation, makes it especially interesting as a therapeutic target.

Related articles

• Gene Variations Linked To Higher Risk Of Bipolar Disorder (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Scientists pinpoint gene variations linked to higher risk of bipolar disorder (eurekalert.org)
• Scientists pinpoint gene variations linked to higher risk of bipolar disorder (sciencedaily.com)
• Replicating risk genes in bipolar disorder (eurekalert.org)

Continue Reading...

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Continue Reading...

Risk Of Diabetes May Be Reduced By Up To 25 Percent By Moderate Coffee Consumption

Drinking three to four cups of coffee per day may help to prevent type 2 diabetes according to research highlighted in a session report published by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), a not-for-profit organization devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health.
Recent scientific evidence has

consistently linked regular, moderate coffee consumption with a possible reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. An update of this research and key findings presented during a session at the 2012 World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes and Its Complications (WCPD) is summarized in the report.
The report outlines the epidemiological evidence linking coffee consumption to diabetes prevention, highlighting research that shows three to four cups of coffee per day is associated with an approximate 25 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than two cups per day. Another study also found an inverse dose dependent response effect with each additional cup of coffee reducing the relative risk by 7-8 per cent.
Whilst these epidemiological studies suggest an association between moderate coffee consumption and reduced risk of developing diabetes, they are unable to infer a causal effect. As such, clinical intervention trails are required to study the effect in a controlled setting. One prospective randomized controlled trial, tested glucose and insulin after an oral glucose tolerance test with 12g decaffeinated coffee, 1g chlorogenic acid, 500 mg trigonelline, or placebo. This study demonstrated that chlorogenic acid, and trigonelline reduced early glucose and insulin responses, and contribute to the putative beneficial effect of coffee.
The report notes that the association between coffee consumption a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes could be seen as counter intuitive, as drinking coffee is often linked to unhealthier habits, such as smoking and low levels of physical activity. Furthermore, studies have illustrated that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension, stroke or coronary heart disease. Research with patients with CVD has also shown that moderate coffee consumption is inversely associated with risk of heart failure, with a J-shaped relationship.
Finally, the report puts forward some of the key mechanistic theories that underlie the possible relationship between coffee consumption and the reduced risk of diabetes. These included the 'Energy Expenditure Hypothesis', which suggests that the caffeine in coffee stimulates metabolism and increases energy expenditure and the 'Carbohydrate Metabolic Hypothesis', whereby it is thought that coffee components play a key role by influencing the glucose balance within the body. There is also a subset of theories that suggest coffee contains components that may improve insulin sensitivity though mechanisms such as modulating inflammatory pathways, mediating the oxidative stress of cells, hormonal effects or by reducing iron stores.
Dr. Pilar Riobó Serván, Associate Chief of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Jiménez Díaz-Capio Hospital of Madrid and a speaker at the WCPD session concludes the report, commenting: "A dose-dependent inverse association between coffee drinking and total mortality has been demonstrated in general population and it persists among diabetics. Although more research on the effect of coffee in health is yet needed, current information suggests that coffee is not as bad as previously considered!"

Related articles

• Drinking 3 to 4 Cups of Coffee a Day Reduces the Risk of Diabetes by 25 Percent, Report (medicaldaily.com)
• Risk Of Diabetes May Be Reduced By Up To 25 Percent By Moderate Coffee Consumption (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Moderate coffee consumption may reduce risk of diabetes by up to 25 percent (medicalxpress.com)
• Your Coffee Cup May Hold the Answer to Preventing Type 2 Diabetes (chasm63.wordpress.com)
• In T2 Diabetes, Which Comes First: High Insulin Levels or Insulin Resistance? (diabeticmediterraneandiet.com)

Continue Reading...

Link Between Multiple Media Use And Depression, Anxiety

Using multiple forms of media at the same time - such as playing a computer game while watching TV - is linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression, scientists have found for the first time.
Michigan State University's Mark Becker, lead investigator on the study, said he was surprised to find such a clear association between media multitasking and mental health problems. What's not yet clear is the cause.

"We don't know whether the media multitasking is causing symptoms of depression and social anxiety, or if it's that people who are depressed and anxious are turning to media multitasking as a form of distraction from their problems," said Becker, assistant professor of psychology.
While overall media use among American youth has increased 20 percent in the past decade, the amount of time spent multitasking with media spiked 120 percent during that period, Becker said.
For the study, which appears in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, Becker and fellow MSU researchers Reem Alzahabi and Christopher Hopwood surveyed 319 people on their media use and mental health.
Participants were asked how many hours per week they used two or more of the primary forms of media, which include television, music, cell phones, text messaging, computer and video games, web surfing and others. For the mental health survey, the researchers used well-established measures, although the results do not reflect a clinical diagnosis.
Becker said future research should explore cause and effect. If it turns out media multitasking is causing depression and anxiety, recommendations could be made to alleviate the problem, he said.
On the other hand, if depressed or anxious people are turning to media multitasking, that might actually help them deal with their problems. It could also serve as a warning sign that a youngster is becoming depressed or anxious.
"Whatever the case, it's very important information to have," Becker said. "This could have important implications for understanding how to minimize the negative impacts of increased media multitasking."

Continue Reading...

Support and Parental Love

Continue Reading...

Bullying and the heart break it causes-a letter from a soul in need

Hey Friends, Family and Viewers. Please take a moment to read what was sent to me. As many of you may know I do Life Coaching as well as blogging and other interests. This was a letter that was sent to me via one of the sites I operate. It has really broken my heart and makes me fearful for what this poor kid has to go through. Bullying is so horrible now days that kids are killing themselves. Is this really what our world has come to. In the Year 2012 just 12 years after the new Millennium in a digital age of enlightenment that our petty differences are still causing segregation and violence? I can not wait for the Baby Boomers and their children to die off so that the children of the 90's and 00's can begin to build a world of peace and tolerance. I just hope that you take a moment to say a simple prayer for this kid and people like them.
If you have children of your own who will not talk to you, find someone that they will talk to. Put them in counseling, or just take time to let them know how much you care, because they may be struggling with more than you could ever know. The world isnt the same place it was when you were kids, your worries and stresses are not the same as those of kids now days. So when your son or daughter is acting up and causing problems, instead of blowing up at them, take a minute to dig down and find out WTF is going on. Chances are they think you hate them or dont care, because no one else in their lives care about them. We get so jaded in our own day to day lives and caught up in the drama of working, or not working, and what have you that we all forget that there is something in our lives that is more important than anything else, our children and family. You will always have your family and children, even if you dont have a house, dont have a job, or a new car or what have you. Material's can be replaced, a life can not.

“My name is (with held). I was bullied and picked on during all my middle school years and even a bit in elementary school. The bullying I suffered was severe. I didn’t have the long flowing hair like some of my peers and because my skin was brown and not light-skinned that was another factor that made me an easy target to pick on. Where I grew up, being light, bright and with long hair was a recipe for popularity. I was “nappy-headed” brown, skinny and regularly called ugly. And that was a recipe for perpetually being picked-on. The bullies would constantly call me names, they would threaten to beat me up after school and sometimes succeed, if I didn’t run. Once I even had a boy beat me up bad on a bus for no reason at all. Kids would taunt me over and over just because. I remember another time a girl just walked up to me and slapped me in the face. I probably was too ugly to look at in her eyes. I have so many horrible stories that I truly can’t describe them all here. And when I got out of middle school, I begged my mother to send me to a different high school than all the other bullies were going to. But my school district would not let me switch schools.In the hood, principals don’t seem to care, teachers barely want to be there and most times parents are too busy with their own life problems to sweat the small stuff. My mom did care and many times she would come up to the school. But she couldn’t sit in class with me. I have cried night after night over my situation and dont know what i else to do. Some nights I contemplate suicide and just dont know where else to turn. Is there any way you can help me? Is there I way I could pay you at a later date. I dont know how much longer I can take this. Is there any way you can help me?”

My heart goes out to this person. I personally know how horrible it is to be bullied, and am going to do everything I can to try and make this person's life a bit easier...this is the part of my "job" that I hate. I dont hate the requests being made of me, just the fact that I am made aware of such hatred. I just hope that that Gods grant me the ability to save this kids life. I know what is to be is to be, but i hope that a pointless death is not in this persons future.
Please pray for this person.

Related articles

• Fenton teens take stand against bullying (minbcnews.com)
• Snowflake Walk sees hundreds take a stand against bullying (vancouversun.com)
• By a Unanimous Decision The Verdict is, Bullies Don't Make Great Leaders (daileytalks.wordpress.com)
• Back-to-School Bully Busting - A Safety Guide for Parents by SimpliSafe Home Security (simplisafe.com)

Continue Reading...

Risk Genes In Bipolar Disorder

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies.
Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.
The locus at 3p21.1 has also been previously associated with depression and schizophrenia. Using a separate dataset of over 34,000 subjects, they did not confirm association of this same variant with schizophrenia.
Thus, they replicated the association of the marker with bipolar disorder, but not with schizophrenia. This is an interesting finding, in that it distinguishes the heritable risk for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It contrasts with the majority of studies that have found that schizophrenia risk genes also contribute to the risk for bipolar disorder.
"This study adds to the recent rapid progress in identifying genes for mental illness. The last few years have seen the identification of about two dozen genetic loci for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," commented first author Evangelos Vassos. "About half of these are shared between these two disorders, indicating they share some, but not all, genetic causes."
Due to the conflicting results, it is clear that more work is needed to determine the role this locus plays in psychosis, but the evidence seems solid that it is associated with bipolar disorder.
PBRM1, the gene implicated in this study, codes for a protein that is involved in chromatin remodeling or "epigenetics", meaning that it influences the ability of a variety of environmental exposures to influence the expression of a range of genes. It has also been previously implicated in the risk for a form of renal cancer.
"There is growing interest in epigenetic mechanisms that might contribute to the development of bipolar disorder. The implication of a gene involved in chromatin remodeling in bipolar disorder risk adds fuel to this fire," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.
Vassos concluded that "future studies may be able to use this information to develop new treatments for these disorders."

Continue Reading...

Christmas Songs for the Diabetic

Continue Reading...

Baking Substitutions

Continue Reading...

Risk Of Depression, Learning Issues When A Person Is Exposed To Light At Night

For most of history, humans rose with the sun and slept when it set. Enter Thomas Edison, and with a flick of a switch, night became day, enabling us to work, play and post cat and kid photos on Facebook into the wee hours.
According to a new study of mice led by a Johns Hopkins biologist, however, this typical 21st- century scenario may come at a serious cost: When people routinely burn the midnight oil, they risk suffering depression and learning issues, and not only because of lack of sleep. The culprit could also be exposure to bright light at night from lamps, computers and even iPads.
"Basically, what we found is that chronic exposure to bright light - even the kind of light you experience in your own living room at home or in the workplace at night if you are a shift worker - elevates levels of a certain stress hormone in the body, which results in depression and lowers cognitive function," said Samer Hattar, a biology professor in the Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
Published in the advance online publication of the journal Nature, the mice study demonstrates how special cells in the eye (called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or ipRGCs) are activated by bright light, affecting the brain's center for mood, memory and learning.

But the study involved mice, so why are we talking about humans? Hattar offers some insight:
"Mice and humans are actually very much alike in many ways, and one is that they have these ipRGCs in their eyes, which affect them the same way," he said. "In addition, in this study, we make reference to previous studies on humans, which show that light does, indeed, impact the human brain's limbic system. And the same pathways are in place in mice."
The scientists knew that shorter days in the winter cause some people to develop a form of depression known as "seasonal affective disorder" and that some patients with this mood disorder benefit from "light therapy," which is simple, regular exposure to bright light.
Hattar's team, led by graduate students Tara LeGates and Cara Altimus, posited that mice would react the same way, and tested their theory by exposing laboratory rodents to a cycle consisting of 3.5 hours of light and then 3.5 hours of darkness. Previous studies using this cycle showed that it did not disrupt the mice's sleep cycles, but Hattar's team found that it did cause the animals to develop depression-like behaviors.
"Of course, you can't ask mice how they feel, but we did see an increase in depression-like behaviors, including a lack of interest in sugar or pleasure seeking, and the study mice moved around far less during some of the tests we did," he said. "They also clearly did not learn as quickly or remember tasks as well. They were not as interested in novel objects as were mice on a regular light-darkness cycle schedule."
The animals also had increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that has been linked in numerous previous studies with learning issues. Treatment with Prozac, a commonly prescribed anti-depressant, mitigated the symptoms, restoring the mice to their previous healthy moods and levels of learning, and bolstering the evidence that their learning issues were caused by depression.
According to Hattar, the results indicate that humans should be wary of the kind of prolonged, regular exposure to bright light at night that is routine in our lives, because it may be having a negative effect on our mood and ability to learn.
"I'm not saying we have to sit in complete darkness at night, but I do recommend that we should switch on fewer lamps, and stick to less-intense light bulbs: Basically, only use what you need to see. That won't likely be enough to activate those ipRGCs that affect mood," he advises.

Continue Reading...