LETTER TO JMG

Receptor mediated effect of serotonergic transmission in patients with bipolar affective disorder

Y M J Lin¹, H C Yang², T J Lai³, C S J Fann², H S Sun⁴

¹ Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan
² Institute of Biomedical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
³ Department of Psychiatry, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
⁴ Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr H S Sun
Assistant Professor, Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, 1 University Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan, ROC; hssun@mail.ncku.edu.tw

Abbreviations: 5-HIAA, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid; 5-HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine; ARMS, amplification refractory mutation system; BPD, bipolar affective disorder; cAMP, cyclic adenosine monophosphate; MSBE, multiple single base extension approach; PCR-ASO, PCR allele specific oligonucleotide; SNPs, single nucleotide polymorphisms

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Bipolar affective disorder (BPD), a common severe mood disorder characterised by manic and depressive episodes, has an estimated lifetime prevalence of 0.1%–1% in various populations, including that of Taiwan.¹ Although previous studies have strongly suggested the involvement of genetic factors in the aetiology of BPD, the search for predisposing genes using classical linkage analysis has been fraught with difficulty. Association studies have been shown to be effective in mapping genes for complex diseases and have therefore been widely applied to studies of many psychiatric traits, including BPD.^2,3 The results suggest that several genes with minor effects might be involved in the pathogenesis of BPD and that genes involved in neurotransmitter metabolism or signal transduction are possible candidates for an association with BPD.^3–5

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT), a major neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, is involved in various physiological events, such as mood control, sleep, thermoregulation, learning, and memory.⁶ Disruption of . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Lin, Y.-M. J., Chao, S.-C., Chen, T.-M., Lai, T.-J., Chen, J.-S., Sun, H. S. (2007). Association of Functional Polymorphisms of the Human Tryptophan Hydroxylase 2 Gene With Risk for Bipolar Disorder in Han Chinese. Arch Gen Psychiatry 64: 1015-1024 [Abstract] [Full Text]