Shed Excess Pounds With These Great Ideas

You need knowledge of the proper methods for losing weight if you're going to be successful. The media is saturated with weight loss advice, so it can be difficult to tell what advice is good and what advice is useless or even harmful. The best way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume.

When you are traveling, always stay true to your weight loss goals. It is wise to pack your own foods instead of eating in roadside diners and fast food establishments. Stock a cooler with healthy produce, yogurt, cheese and crackers. Foods like these keep well, pack easily and are not hard to eat when driving. You should also pack some water and stay hydrated too.

Drop pounds slowly to be able to keep them off. You may feel good seeing fast weight loss, but dropping pounds fast is typically due to water weight and this weight loss is not going to stick. There are slick marketers who will use this to trick people into trying their products, but the fact is, it is better to do it gradually for lasting results.

TIP! Do not miss meals during your weight loss endeavor. Skipping meals can cause your body to burn muscle, and store fat.

It is extremely important to get adequate sleep each night in order to lose weight. It is important to get at least eight hours of sleep every night. Too little or too much sleep, and you may find it more difficult to lose weight. For instance, people who are depressed usually sleep more and tend to be overweight.

Find ways to improve your activity levels while at work. Unfortunately, a lot of jobs force you to sit in an office chair for hours, which aids in weight gain. Take deliveries to others in your office, instead of using interdepartmental mail. Being active at work can be refreshing, and will help you to avoid weight gain.

Use caution when purchasing low-fat products. These products are often smaller sized, more expensive versions of the same product in a larger container, and are often full of "empty" calories.

It's easy to lose weight if you stay active. Do not sit still for more than 15 minutes at a time. Get up and move around, or stretch every 15 minutes if you are sitting down for an extended period of time. This allows you to constantly burn calories the entire day. It also has the added benefit of increasing your metabolism, which will help you lose weight faster.

TIP! Weight loss can be easier if you have some weight loss buddies to lose weight with. Workout with one another, discuss your challenges and victories and indulge in a celebration when goals are reached.

Avoid thinking about a "diet." It is better to describe it as eating healthy or watching your caloric intake. If you use the word "diet", it can feel like being restricted from the food that you love.

Eliminate soda completely from your diet. Loaded with carbohydrates and sugar, sodas can intensify your cravings. Have water instead, and you have a better chance of staying slim.

Weight Loss

Be strong when cravings strike. Not caving into cravings can be difficult to learn. Dig deep and attempt to use your inner willpower to help you ignore your cravings. Brush your teeth so that if you eat something sweet, the taste of the toothpaste will distort that taste of the sweet item. As an alternative, try doing something proactive such as exercising.

TIP! Ensure that your goals are realistic. Often, people will start a diet and have some specific weight goals in mind.

The tips that were in this article have proved successful for a multitude of individuals, and can do the same for you. Don't spin your wheels by just watching weight loss videos. You can begin your weight loss journey today. Be patient because it takes longer to see results with healthy weight loss than with crash diets.

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Lose Weight And Feel Great For LIfe

There are both mental and physical dangers for people who are obese. You need to make changes if your weight is affecting you. This article has lots of useful information to help you lose weight.

When dieting and attempting to lose weight, you don't have to sacrifice taste. In years past, food developed for diets was normally bland at best. There are now improved options when it comes to sweeteners and other additives that mean improved taste without the need for extra calories or carbs. Try this out if you'd like to keep eating food that you enjoy.

Have a healthy pack of snacks ready to go. These include vegetables, cheese, and nuts. If you have healthy snacks available, you'll be less tempted to stray from your diet. This also makes an easy, on the go, healthy snack.

TIP! Start small. Eliminate a bad habit and replace it slowly with a good eating habit.

Some people feel uneasy about sharing with others that they are trying to loose weight. This can actually be a big mistake. Telling them gives you a system of motivation and encouragement. Telling others about your weight loss goals might cause them to think twice before offering you unhealthy foods.

To help you lose weight you need to monitor your intake of calories. Weight loss is not possible if you consume for calories than you burn. If you have too many calories, you can't shed pounds. Write down every calorie you consume, so that you don't overdo it.

By having a schedule of what you will eat and when, it will help you stick to your weight loss regimen. If you've already planned what you'll be eating, it's much less likely that you'll give into temptation and chow down on some junk. Those healthy meals you have jotted down are pure gold. Don't abandon them. You can switch days if you need to, but do not eat something unhealthy. Cooking the food helps your burn some calories in the process.

Always steer clear of buffets that have all-you-can-eat specials going on. Buffets often make people want to consume as much food as possible to get their money's worth. Overeating will not help your weight loss goals, and it affects your health in many ways.

TIP! Paying attention to the times that you are eating is just as important as paying attention to what you are eating. When you find yourself with early morning hunger pains, it is probably a result of not consuming enough calories the night before.

Don't attempt to restrict yourself from every food that you crave. Foods like chips and ice cream are delicious. Cravings for unhealthy foods like these can kick into overdrive when you are on a diet. Work on staying strong, but you do not need to always deny yourself. Instead, feed the craving with a healthy alternative in order to get the satisfaction you desire.

Eating off of small dishes can be a good weight loss trick. It is normal to want to fill up an entire bowl or plate with food. Using smaller plates tricks your mind into thinking that you are eating more than you actually are. Simply changing the size of your plate can fool you into thinking you are eating the same amount as you used to.

A great way to make weight stays down is to not eat in the hours directly preceding bedtime. It may be difficult, but remember that, because you will be sleeping, food eaten just before bed will not be burned off and will become fat. During the evening, try to do something productive such as exercising or reading.

If you have spent a great deal of time overweight, it is important to view weight loss as a lifestyle change, not just a phase. If this is you, chances are you know a lot about staying healthy and losing weight. You need to have a plan to keep on top of your health!

TIP! One easy weight loss tip is to take your time when you eat. Chew food slowly to allow your body to digest it properly.

The advice in this article should have helped to clarify the direction forward for your own weight loss efforts. Take the necessary steps to better your life though these simple tips. Having the knowledge is only the first part of the journey; you need to make the choice to continue forward with what you have learned.

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Diabetes Can Make Life Hard, These Tips Can Make It A Bit Easier

A diagnosis of diabetes can be disconcerting, but with the right information, it is possible to deal with the condition successfully and enjoy a healthier life. The advice in this article will help you learn more about diabetes and what may be the best approach for you to take to keep yourself in optimum health.

If you are traveling, you should be sure to pack your insulin. Never check your insulin in with your luggage because you could end up losing it or expose it to dangerous temperatures. As long as there are no excessive temperatures, your insulin will remain effective even if carried in your purse or in a carry on.

This means that your child is more likely to develop diabetes in the future. It is very important for you to maintain good health so as not to doom your child to having diabetes.

TIP! To stay on top of your diabetes, remind yourself of what you gain by managing the condition. What are your hobbies? What would you undertake if you could? What's holding you back? How can you get around those barriers? By staying focused on what's most important, you'll remain motivated in your diabetes management.

You can reduce your chance of developing diabetes by ensuring you eat a high-fiber diet. Consuming processed and overly refined foods with a high glycemic index increases your risk of developing diabetes; instead, eat foods that are made with whole grains. There are many studies that show that people who eat whole grains, and low-GI foods in general, get diabetes less often than those who don't.

Almonds are excellent for handling those hunger urges and won't upset any diabetic levels at all! Unsalted almonds are full of fiber, protein, and other nutrients, which are extremely healthy for you to ingest. Always keep some almonds handy around the house so you always have them when you're struck with the urge to snack.

Blood Sugar

Individuals who battle hypoglycemia should consult a physician to inquire about the use of glucose tablets. These tablets can be easily carried around and can increase your glucose level effectively and more quickly than other sugary foods, because these foods take time to digest.

TIP! Exercising naturally lowers blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity, which is the healthiest way to control your blood sugar levels. You need to engage in resistance training as well as aerobics to maximize your body's ability to regulate blood sugar.

Vinegar can improve your glycemic control. There is some evidence to suggest that adding a little vinegar to a meal can prevent blood sugar spikes associated with eating. Vinegar makes changes to how your digestive system works. Your stomach digests starch more slowly after consuming vinegar, so blood sugar won't rise as quickly, and the rest of the food you eat may also take longer to digest.

As previously stated, diabetes can really overwhelm anyone who doesn't know enough about it, or how to get control over it instead of the other way around. Once you start using the powerful advice in the article above, you will have the tools you need to stay healthy while you control your symptoms.

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Anybody Can Drop The Pounds With These Proven Weight Loss Tips

Sometimes losing weight is not easy. This can be for a variety of reasons, but one reason in particular is that you can't figure out a system that works for you. Getting a system and rhythm in place is the best thing for your weight loss goals and here are a few tips that might help.

If you want to achieve permanent weight loss, you need to plan to lose it slowly. It may feel good to see rapid results of deprivation diets or fasts but they can often leave you with dehydration and loss of muscle tone. Quick weight loss normally leads to gaining back all the weight plus some extra pounds.

Try eliminating read meat from your diet. Red meats are not heart friendly thanks to high levels of saturated fats and bad cholesterols. Rather than choosing red meats, consider lean proteins such as fish and fowl.

TIP! A good tip that may help you lose weight is to surround yourself with people who are active. By surrounding yourself with active people, you will be able to get into the action yourself.

Instead of consuming large evening meals, try eating the large meals midday. If you have a small meal at lunchtime, have a dinner-sized meal instead. Your peak calorie-burning period is during the day when you are active, so it makes sense for your peak eating time to coincide with this.

Make sure to stay away from pills and other things that promise weight loss that is too fast. Even if you lose a few pounds quickly, the weight will likely be gained right back once you stop taking the supplement.

You may need to increase your workout's intensity if you've reached the point in which exercising is too simple. Your body will get used to your workout routine and stop reacting positively if there's little variation.

Yogurt is a friend to anyone on a diet. Eat plain or low fat yogurts. Plain yogurt can be used to make a salad with cucumber slices and a little dash of salt and pepper. Try adding some fresh fruit on your plain yogurt. This helps you prevent unnecessary sugar consumption that regular yogurts contain. Yogurt is a great source of calcium if you choose the right products.

TIP! If you want to lose weight fast, one of the basic things that you need to understand is that you have to eat the right kind of food. Clean out your refrigerator or pantry from foods that would sabotage your weight loss efforts.

If you have been overweight in your life, do not see this as a just another stage of your life. You are now a weight loss expert for life and this is because maintenance is just as important to your journey as the loss itself is.

Variety in your diet is good when you are trying to lose weight. Eating the same things over and over can cause you to get bored and off track. Maintain a balanced diet in all of your efforts, and, as a reminder, don't forget that you can still enjoy your favorite foods. Just approach them in moderation.

Use these ideas to help develop an everyday routine you can follow. Follow the tips, and then tweak them a bit to make it more convenient for you. If you can commit yourself to losing weight and then get yourself into a rhythm, taking off the extra weight will be much easier.

If you tend to gain weight easily, avoid buffets. Restaurants that feature all-you-can-eat deals encourage you to overindulge so that you get the most for your money. This can make you sick in the short term, but it will also make you overweight in the long term, which in turn can cause heart disease.

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Living A Full Life Even Though You Have Diabetes

Many individuals are under the misconception that a normal life isn't possible once a diagnosis of diabetes has been made. The advice that follows is sure to teach you several useful methods for handling diabetes effectively and for maintaining an enjoyable lifestyle. The lifestyle choices that you make can have a big impact on your overall health.

It is important to know that although gestational diabetes usually goes away after you have given birth, it is essential to keep having your blood sugar checked. Many people are under the misconception that once you have had your baby, you will no longer have abnormal blood sugar levels.

Enjoy foods like eggs, beans and Greek yogurt that are high in protein but low in fat. Try different foods and recipes so that you don't get bored.

TIP! Check into different ways you can make the food you eat healthier. You can still enjoy your favorite foods with some modifications.

If you are hypoglycemic, you should always have gum or some other type of sugary food handy. Hypoglycemia attacks can happen at any time, so you need to be prepared for that. This is particularly true if you didn't eat breakfast, as it can cause your body to crave sugar.

If you skip meals, your sugar levels are going to increase because your liver releases glucose to sustain the fuel your body needs when you aren't consuming adequate nutrition. Eating regular meals, as well as having snacks with carbohydrates, will reduce the glucose being released.

Diabetes has become a prevalent disease. This makes injections far more convenient than if you had to find a private place, and knowing that most people are comfortable with diabetic procedures should allow you to feel more comfortable too.

If you are a diabetic and have problems with hypoglycemia, consider speaking with your physician about the pros and cons of glucose tablets. Such tablets are a convenient way to increase glucose levels effectively and quickly.

TIP! Keep your diabetic supplies together in one place for easy access, and if you can, have a second, portable bag that can be carried with you at all times. Your prepared bag should contain insulin, meter supplies and syringes.

Lots of methods of dropping weight and battling diabetes exist, ranging from workouts at a park to jogging. For example, you could do chin-ups on a jungle gym, or you could lift weights with fabric bags or canned goods.

Your chances of experiencing complications from diabetes are lessened with a low level A1C. Sadly, many people do not manage their diabetes well enough to achieve good A1C levels. Try and strive for seven percent at the most, preferably less, which is about 150mg/dl blood glucose.

Glucose Levels

Many different foods have this ingredient, including sodas, condiments, and most sweets. Read the labels carefully to avoid foods that contain it. In Canada this item is labeled as "glucose/fructose".

TIP! When people have diabetes they are also more likely to acquire other health problems as well, and they might not even notice them; one serious one to note is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea actually causes your breath to stop while sleeping.

Watching what you eat is absolutely essential. Different foods affect glucose levels differently, and you will need to carefully scrutinize your food choices. Large meals require large insulin injections but smaller meals require smaller insulin injections. If you monitor your meals and are careful with your diet, you can manage your blood glucose levels well.

Diabetics have a tendency to develop many problems with their feet. A diabetic should take special care of their feet, as not doing so can lead to amputations. These tips can keep your feet in tip-top health, whether you are a diabetic or not.

The tips above should have given you a good idea of the little things you can do to manage your Diabetes and have a fulfilled life. There is no reason for you to live less of a life than you want to live. You are the only person who can control the type of life you have whether you have diabetes or not.

Diabetics also have an increased risk of developing gingivitis so regular dental visits are important. Brushing should occur at least twice daily, and flossing at least once daily also.

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Getting Medication Refills

Mental Health Awareness Ribbon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So my doctors have been wanting me to redo my medications and see if that would help me, since I have been off them for some time. I go to refill my Xanax today and I was told that it was declined that I had to call Mental Health.

I call mental health and they say “well Mr. Peterson we cant find you in the system.” This is because when I began receiving SSI/SSD they kicked me out of the clinic because they couldn’t bill Medicare. So I explain this to the receptionist. “Oh well I will have a nurse call you back.” That was several hours ago. So Im going to call in tomorrow if I don’t hear from them later today.

But seriously, you know I have problems with depression, and am Bipolar and have PTSD, you are really going to cut/keep me from my medications? Not really that smart of an idea.

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'Protecting' Psychiatric Medical Records Puts Patients At Risk Of Hospitalization

Medical centers that elect to keep psychiatric files private and separate from the rest of a person's medical record may be doing their patients a disservice, a Johns Hopkins study concludes.
In a survey of psychiatry departments at 18 of the top American hospitals as ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in 2007, a Johns Hopkins team learned that fewer than half of the hospitals had all inpatient psychiatric records in their electronic medical record systems and that fewer than 25 percent gave non-psychiatrists full access to those records.
Strikingly, the researchers say, psychiatric patients were 40 percent less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within the first month after discharge in institutions that provided full access to those medical records.

"The big elephant in the room is the stigma," says Adam I. Kaplin, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of the study published online in the International Journal of Medical Informatics. "But there are unintended consequences of trying to protect the medical records of psychiatric patients. When you protect psychiatric patients in this way, you're protecting them from getting better care. We're not helping anyone by not treating these diseases as we would other types of maladies. In fact, we're hurting our patients by not giving their medical doctors the full picture of their health."
Kaplin says that as more and more hospitals embrace electronic medical records, many choose to exclude psychiatric illnesses, even if that means keeping vital information about diagnoses and medications from primary care doctors who need it.
After the surveys were completed, the researchers tapped the University Health System Consortium Clinical Database, which includes information on readmission rates on 13 of the hospitals in the study. At institutions where psychiatric records were included in the EMR, psychiatric patients were 27 percent less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within a week of discharge, with little statistical difference after two weeks and a month. But in those hospitals where records were included in the EMR and non-psychiatrists were given access to them, patients were 40 percent less likely to be readmitted at seven days, 14 days and a month.
"If you have electronic medical records, that's a good step in the right direction," Kaplin says. "But what you really need to do is share the records with non-psychiatrists. It will really make a difference in terms of quality of care and readmission rates. Let's not keep mental health records out in the cold."
The researchers found no difference in length of stay in the hospital, a marker for severity of illness, between patients whose records were shared or not, nor was there a difference found in overall readmission rates at the hospitals, suggesting that the higher readmission rate for the patients whose information was not shared was a psychiatry department issue, not a hospital-wide one, Kaplin notes. Readmission rates have been a hot topic because the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun to penalize some hospitals financially for readmissions, seen by many as a marker for poor quality of care.
Kaplin argues that while non-psychiatrists don't need access to all of the specifics of a patient's psychiatric history, they need to know details about diagnoses, treatment and medications prescribed. The latter is perhaps the most vital because drugs prescribed by a primary care doctor could produce bad interactions when mixed with psychiatric drugs that they are not aware have been prescribed by a psychiatrist.
Kaplin says it makes no sense that a physician can find out if a patient is being treated at the HIV clinic, for erectile dysfunction or for drug addiction, but not whether the patient is being treated for depression.
Information about depression can be critical, Kaplin says, because depression after a heart attack is the number one determinant of whether the patient will be alive one year later. Moreover, he says, by keeping psychiatric records separate, the stigma is perpetuated.
Hospitals take great care to ensure confidentiality of patient records, electronic or not, and that information is used only by those with a need for it. With electronic records, each access leaves behind an electronic fingerprint, and if someone without authorization accesses the records, a red flag goes up. Hospital staff members have been fired for improperly viewing medical records.

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Most-Used Diabetes Drug Works in Different Way Than Previously Thought

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood. Their research in mice found that metformin suppresses the liver hormone glucagon's ability to generate an important signaling molecule, pointing to new drug targets. The findings were published online this week in Nature.

For fifty years, one of the few classes of therapeutics effective in reducing the overactive glucose production associated with diabetes has been the biguanides, which includes metformin, the most frequently prescribed drug for type 2 diabetes. The inability of insulin to keep liver glucose output in check is a major factor in the high blood sugar of type 2 diabetes and other diseases of insulin resistance.

"Overall, metformin lowers blood glucose by decreasing liver production of glucose," says Birnbaum. "But we didn't really know how the drug accomplished that."

Imperfectly Understood

Despite metformin's success, its mechanism of action remained imperfectly understood. About a decade ago, researchers suggested that metformin reduces glucose synthesis by activating the enzyme AMPK. But this understanding was challenged by genetic experiments in 2010 by collaborators on the present Nature study. Coauthors Marc Foretz and Benoit Viollet from Inserm, CNRS, and Université Paris Descartes, Paris, found that the livers of mice without AMPK still responded to metformin, indicating that blood glucose levels were being controlled outside of the AMPK pathway.

Taking another look at how glucose is regulated normally, the team knew that when there is no food intake and glucose decreases, glucagon is secreted from the pancreas to signal the liver to produce glucose. They then asked if metformin works by stopping the glucagon cascade.

The Nature study describes a novel mechanism by which metformin antagonizes the action of glucagon, thus reducing fasting glucose levels. The team showed that metformin leads to the accumulation of AMP in mice, which inhibits an enzyme called adenylate cyclase, thereby reducing levels of cyclic AMP and protein kinase activity, eventually blocking glucagon-dependent glucose output from liver cells.

From this new understanding of metformin's action, Birnbaum and colleagues surmise that adenylate cyclase could be a new drug target by mimicking the way in which it is inhibited by metformin. This strategy would bypass metformin's affect on a cell's mitochondria to make energy, and possibility avoid the adverse side effects experienced by many people who take metformin, perhaps even working for those patients resistant to metformin.

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• Blood Glucose Levels And BMI In Very Obese Children Improved By Metformin (medicalnewstoday.com)

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Control Your Weight With These Weight Loss Tips

Many people struggle when they are trying to lose weight. The wealth of information available can quickly overwhelm anyone. Getting the best and accurate information can be a taxing endeavor. Thankfully, this article provides many great weight loss tips. You can read them now below.

Don't eat immediately before bed. Stop eating at least 2 hours before your regular bedtime. If you must eat something, then eat healthy like veggies and some water. Although there will be times in your life when you can't live by this rule, you should try to stick to it as often as you can. This helps to reduce the amount of fat storage at night when you go to bed.

For some extra encouragement, remind yourself daily of a piece of clothing that's too small for you. When you're tempted to break your diet for a snack, you'll see the clothing and be reminded of how much you'd like to fit into it. It can be a good tool to help motivate you to follow through with your program.

TIP! When eating you should pause for a few minutes. This also gives your body the ability to tell you if you are full so that you stop eating.

Donate or toss out any clothes you wore when you weighed a lot more. When you keep those clothes, you may think it's okay to start gaining weight again because you'll still have bigger clothes. But if you get rid of these clothes, you are committed to continuing your weight loss efforts.

Knowing how to make sense of what's on food labels is important. Fat free doesn't always mean healthy. The nutrition label will tell you all you need to know about how much sodium, sugar and other chemicals are included in that food item. Stay away from "healthy" foods that tout things like "fat-free" or "no trans fats" if they contain excessive sugar. Be sure to read the whole label to know what your food contains.

Drinking more coffee can contribute to weight loss. A lot of people drink their coffee every day, yet they are not aware of the wonderful properties it has that make it a good workout partner. Coffee gives energy and also boosts metabolism.

Make sure to include plenty of fresh, healthy foods in your diet plan. During a diet, it is not hard to wind up consuming low cal foods that are not very nutritious. You might shed pounds, but you can harm your health in the process.

TIP! Maintaining food journals is a great way to achieve weight loss success. It's a good idea to record calories or fat grams in it.

If you are trying to lose weight, you need to eat better. Get rid of all of the snacks that you have lying around the house. Eating right is the first step in losing unwanted weight.

There is proof that metabolism can be increased by drinking green tea, and that will help with weight loss. Try drinking it with honey or a natural sweetener to liven it up. Black tea is another tea with health benefits. It has antioxidants that help rid your system of toxins and can improve your immune system.

Keep track of everything you consume. Go out and purchase and cheap spiral notebook or journal. This notebook is now a food journal of your very own. Record exactly what you eat, including servings and calories for each food item. This is a simple and effective way to monitor what you eat and the progress you are making.

Make sure your workout shoes are comfortable. Workouts put a lot of stress on your body, and ill-fitting or otherwise unsuitable shoes can add to this stress and even cause injury. You don't need to purchase expensive footwear, but make sure that you wear them around a while to ensure comfort and proper fit.

Weight Loss

Educate yourself before you get started with your weight loss program. The more knowledge you have, the simpler it becomes to make the best choices regarding your health. When healthy, it goes along way towards solving your weight loss issues. If you use these tips you have just read, you will be successful right away.

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Understanding Bipolar Disorder

The biology and genetics of bipolar disorder are not well understood, thus making understanding of the disorder challenging. Now, in a new study, researchers utilize an integrative approach in order to investigate the biology of bipolar disorder.
Dr. Inti Pedroso and colleagues examined results of three studies, which examined the association of common gene variants with bipolar disorder throughout the genome. In addition, the team examined a study of gene

expression patterns in post-mortem brain tissue from individuals who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry explained:

"None of our research approaches provide us with sufficient information, by itself, to understand the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders. This innovative paper wrestles with this challenge in a creative way that helps us to move forward in thinking about the neurobiology of bipolar disorder."

Dr. Pedroso said: "We combined information about genetic variation from thousands of cases and controls with brain gene expression data and information from protein databases to identify networks of genes and proteins in the brain that are key in the development of bipolar disorder."
The team were able to define risk gene variants that were considered function, by virtue of the association with changes in gene expression levels, and to group these functional gene variants in biologically meaningful pathways.
The results found that the effect was due to genes that played a role in various neural signaling pathways like the Notch and Wnt signaling pathways, which are key processes in neurotransmission and brain development. They also suggest that these genes are also likely to play a part in causing this disorder. According to the researchers, these genes localize to the human postsynaptic density that is vital for neuronal function and their mouse knockouts show different behavioral phenotypes whilst some are known targets of pharmacological therapies for bipolarism.
Dr. Gerome Breen, Senior Lecturer at King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, concluded:

"Our study provides some of the first evidence to show the biochemical and developmental processes involved in causing risk for developing this life-long and costly illness. We have highlighted potential new avenues for new drug treatments and intervention."

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