Gene Linked to Pediatric Bipolar Disorder; Children in Companion Study Found Very Impaired.

Byline: Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- A recent study of children with manic-depressive illness (now called bipolar disorder) has found a gene that may confer susceptibility to this illness, as reported in September's American Journal of Psychiatry. "As recently as 10 years ago, it was not widely known that the illness existed in children," says Barbara Geller, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. The gene, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), has been shown to help determine thinking and memory and the response to medications given to people who have bipolar disorder. …