Two new genes linked to bipolar disorder discovered

Washington: Scientists have discovered two new genes and have also confirmed three additional suspect genes that are connected to bipolar disorder.

The researchers from Bonn, Mannheim and Basel , who recorded about 2.3 million different regions in the genetic material of patients and comparators, found that there are a total of five risk regions in the DNA associated with the disorder.

The researchers are particularly interested in the newly discovered gene region "ADCY2", which codes an enzyme involved in the conduction of signals into nerve cells.

Prof. Markus Nothen from Bonn said that this study fits very well with observations that the signal transfer in certain regions of the brain is impaired in patients with bipolar disorder.

The study was published journal Nature Communications.