Who Gets Manic Depression

Anyone can develop bipolar disorder. The usual age of the onset of bipolar disorder is young adulthood. The onset of symptoms can occur as early as infancy. Elderly adults can develop bipolar disorder, but often the symptoms of bipolar disorder are actually side effects of medications and not bipolar disorder.

Someone may go undiagnosed for years because they may be reluctant to seek medical attention for a psychiatric problem. When diagnosing manic depression, a doctor or psychiatrist uses the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. This manual outlines the symptoms that are present in manic and depressive episodes. When people meet the criteria for a manic episode or a depressive episode plus at least one manic or hypomanic episode, they could be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

There is a genetic component to bipolar disorder. A family history of bipolar disorder or clinical depression increases the individual’s risk of developing the disorder. More than two-thirds of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder have at least one close relative with bipolar disorder or clinical depression. Children who have a parent with a manic depression diagnosis have a 25% chance of developing the disorder. Children born to two parents with bipolar disorder have a 72-75% chance of developing bipolar disorder. The children who have parents who suffer from bipolar disorder are likely effected by the stress of their parents illness as well. The family stress could be a contributing factor to developing bipolar disorder themselves.

Research has failed to pinpoint a single gene as the precise cause of bipolar disorder. Scientific studies seeking to identify the genetic cause of bipolar disorder indicate that the disorder is likely caused from multiple genes. Scientists are continuing their search for these genes by analyzing genes from large samples of families affected by the illness. The researchers are hopeful that identification of the genes responsible for bipolar disorder will lead to the development of better treatments. It may also allow preventive interventions targeted at the underlying illness process to be developed.

Some scientists are using brain-imaging techniques to look for subtle differences in the brains of those who have bipolar disorder. If such a difference was found, it would largely expand the understanding the cause of bipolar disorder. Some psychiatric professionals believe that bipolar disorder is due to extra brain activity caused by extra neurons, or brain cells. This could account for why the medications used to treat bipolar disorder are also used to treat epilepsy. It seems that perhaps in both cases, the medication is quieting excessive brain activity.

Some people who have bipolar disorder were first diagnosed with major depression before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This is because they may have experienced several depressive episodes before having a manic episode. Or, they may have experienced hypomania, a milder form of a manic episode, without recognizing it as such. A person with bipolar disorder may spend years going through numerous episodes of depression before receiving a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Anyone who experiences cycles of clinical depression should be aware of the symptoms of hypomania.

Everyone has the potential for developing bipolar disorder, but the risk is significantly greater for those who have a family history of a mood disorder. Scientist have not yet been able to identify a specific cause for bipolar disorder. It is accepted that bipolar disorder has a combination of environmental and genetic causes.

Next article: How Manic Depression In Children Is Like