Bipolar Disorder Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bipolar Disorder - Article Example The basis of this study is an association between the deregulation of HPA axis and BD diagnosis, present in all clinical cases of BD. A dysfunction of the HPA axis may be caused by an alteration the rate limiting step of cortisol metabolism. A mitochondrial membrane translocator protein (TSPO) is a key regulator in this pathway as it limits the translocation of cholesterol into the power house (Colasanti, Owen, & Grozeva, et al., 2013). An amino acid substitution polymorphism (rs 6971) in the gene encoding for this transporter protein greatly affects the affinity of TSPO to cholesterol. This altered affinity in the defective protein in turn impairs the metabolism of steroids including those of HPA axis. This study provides evidence of association between a single nucleotide polymorphism in the TSPO gene and the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in a large scale case control study (Colasanti, Owen, & Grozeva, et al., 2013). However, the results of this study are suggestive as the findings did not reach genome wise significance; though they were reproducible. This nominal association suggests the possible existence of o ther confounding factors in the etiopathogenesis of bipolar disorder. A limitation of this study is in the use of imputation in the analysis for the rs6971 SNP in the TSPO gene. In conclusion, a bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by mood swings. There are several environmental and genetic etiologies to this condition, which can progress to severe forms such as psychosis. A study by Colasanti, Owen, and Grozeva, et al., suggests a possible genetically altered HPA axis function as a causative factor in BD. The genetic mutation in the mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) impairs the metabolism of neurosteroids, which in turn alters the HPA axis function (Colasanti, Owen, & Grozeva, et al., 2013). The deregulation in HPA axis has been reported in all BD cases suggesting a