Findings show mood disorders may be related

AORN Journal,  March, 2002  

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions have discovered that panic disorder and manic depressive (ie, bipolar) disorder may not be separate diseases, according to a Jan 9, 2002, news release from the institution. They believe that the two are different forms of a shared, complex biological condition.

Researchers examined the disease pedigrees of 203 families. At least one member of each family had bipolar disorder. By interviewing family members, these researchers identified symptoms characteristic of major mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions in relatives. They also discovered that if one family member has panic disorder and bipolar disorder, the risk of panic disorder in relatives increases.

Although genes do not explain psychiatric diseases fully, the frequency of psychiatric diseases in approximately 1% of the population and their tendency to run in families indicates a strong genetic role. Determining that role, however, is complicated by variations in symptoms, even within the same family. Some family members may have intense episodes of mania while others may have mild symptoms with or without panic.

According to the release, further studies should be conducted on families with both panic and bipolar disorder and families with bipolar disorder only. This should lead to insights about both conditions. It is possible, for example, that both disorders may be the same underlying condition marked by different degrees of intensity of symptoms, such as fear, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or dizziness.

Discovery that Common Mood Disorders am Inherited Together May Reveal Genetic Underpinnings (news release, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Jan 9, 2002) http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2002 /JANUARY/020109A.htm (accessed 16 Jan 2002).

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