1. Bipolar Disorder Edwyn Lo

2. What is Bipolar Disorder? Bipolar disorder is a autosomal dominant disorder. This means that if a person has two dominant cells of this disease, then they are very likely to show it. If they have one dominant gene and one recessive, then they are carriers. If both of their genes are recessive, then they have no link with this disease. It is also known as manic-depressive illness. When a person enters a state in which they’re mood sways extremely high and low, they probably have bipolar disorder. A common symptom of this disease is depression and unusual shifts in a person’s energy and ability to function. The mood swings of people with this disorder are different from the normal “roller coaster rides” we have everyday. When normal people have their ups and downs, it is considered mild compared to the severe mood swings the people with this disease have. Though this disorder may sound simple and easy to cure, it actually is one of the most severe forms of mental disease. The disease has a high rate of recurrence and if ignored, there is a 15% risk of death through suicide. The bipolar disorder is the 3 rd leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 24, and is the 6 th leading cause of death in the developed world among people aged between 15 and 44.

3. History of Bipolar Disorder This disease featuring different problems with the brain was discovered in the late 1900s by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin. Though this disease was discovered by Emil, the first occurrence of this disorder was actually in Ancient Greek. Several people in the science career tried to uncover the mystery of this disorder including Roman physician Caelius Aurelianus. The word ‘mania’ was actually found in the process of one of the attempts to solve this mystery. The first time this disease ever came up can be traced back to around 2 A.D.

4. Treatment There is no special treatment for the bipolar disorder because this disability cannot be cured. There are two major ways to prevent further episodes of this disease, pharmacological and psychotherapeutic techniques. One of the best ways would be to find a psychotherapist to help you express your feelings and lower your stress. Psychotherapists are also specialized to improve depression disabilities and problems.

5. Inheritance BB = Has this disease. bb = Has no link with this disease whatsoever. Bb = Carrier of this disease. Female (Has this disease) B b b Bb B Male (Has no link with this disease) The punnett square above shows that if one parent has this disease (BB) and the other doesn’t (bb), then their children will all be carriers. B = Dominant b = Recessive BB : bb : Bb = 0:0:4

6. B B b BBBb bbBb b Female (Carrier) Male (Is a carrier of this disease) This square to the left shows two parents who are both carriers of the bipolar disorder. Half of their offspring will be carriers, a quarter will show this disease, and another quarter will have no link with bipolar disorder. BB : bb : Bb = 1:1:2 b b b bb b Female (No link to disease) Male (No link to disease) The square to the right shows both parents having no link to the bipolar disease. This means their offspring will have no chance of getting this disease because this is a autosomal dominant disease meaning only people with a dominant bipolar disease gene will have a chance of getting it. BB : bb : Bb = 0:4:0

7. Bibliography "Bipolar Disorder." Wikipedia. 16 Oct. 2007. 16 Oct. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_Disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_Disorder "Autosomal." Dictionary.com. 2007. 18 Oct. 2007 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/autosomal http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/autosomal "Bipolar Disorder." National Institute of Mental Health. 12 Oct. 2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 12 Oct. 2007 http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar- disorder/complete-publication.shtml http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar- disorder/complete-publication.shtml "Recurrence." Dictionary.com. 2007. 18 Oct. 2007 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recurrence http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recurrence Long, Phillip W. "Bipolar Disorder." Internet Mental Health. 2005. Internet Mental Health. 18 Oct. 2007 http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-md02.html http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-md02.html