Bipolar disorder gene expression studies

More recent research has focused on examining underlying commonalities in the biochemical actions of the mood stabilizers used to treat bipolar disorder (Zhou et al., 2005), in studies of postmortem brain tissue (Post et al., 2003), and in signal transduction pathways and regulation of gene expression (Bezchlibnyk and Young, 2002). For example, altered levels or function of G-protein alpha subunits and protein kinase A and C have been found in bipolar patients, as well as disruption in second messenger cascades such as the ERK/MAPK pathways. 

Endocrine Thyroid A woman with thyroid carcinoma who was taking lithium for bipolar disorder discontinued her thyroid hormone replacement in preparation for radioactive iodine ( I) treatment [59" ]. Within 3 weeks she developed severe lithium toxicity, which the authors attributed to renal insuffidenqr associated with hypothyroidism [60 ]. Lithium was not withdrawn in this patient, because of an earlier suggestion that lithium can be used as an adjunct in treatment [61 ]. In an in vitro study using follicular thyroid carcinoma cell lines, lithium 10-20 nunol/1 induced expression of NR4A1 and FOSB, genes whose underexpression is associated with mahgnancy [62 ]. 

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