Bipolar disorder, the mental illness once known as manic depression, is brought about by a chemical imbalance in the brain that sends patients from one emotional extreme to the other, from delusions of grandeur, motormouth and, as one writer put it, buying an airplane to deep despair. They can also suddenly become angry or suspicious, or obsessed with sex. The illness is genetic. If a parent is bipolar, chances are that one in every four children will be a carrier, and if both parents are bipolar, the chances are between 50:50 and two in three that a child will carry the gene. <BR><BR>The chances of identical twins sharing the condition is anywhere between 30-90 percent. Fraternal twins have a 5-25 percent chance of sharing the disorder. Researchers have only recently pinpointed the gene that causes bipolar disorder, says Prof. Bahn Geon-ho of Kyunghee University Medical Center. "If there is one person in your family with the disorder, your chances of developing it are 10 times greater than among other people."
<P>Undiagnosed and untreated, the illness can have devastating effects. When an entrepreneur with the condition aggressively expands operations driven by the boundless optimism the highs induce, they may default on their credit, while workers may lose their jobs over their erratic behavior. Those with powerful sexual fantasies sometimes attempt sex with anyone who may be willing. "When we get female bipolar patients, the first thing we do is check for pregnancy," Prof. Cho Maeng-jae of Seoul National University Hospital’s Department of Neuropsychiatry says. "We've had cases of girls from good quiet households who had sex with so many men they weren't even sure whose child they were carrying."
<P>If there is someone in your circle of friends who seems to be bursting with energy, some careful observation might be in order. During highs, sufferers are capable of drinking vast amounts without getting drunk, in some cases carrying on drinking till they literally keel over with exhaustion. But after just a couple of hours’ sleep, they are back, seemingly as fresh and animated as ever. Some can be cheerful at such times, talking compellingly of ideas as the cycle progresses. The poet Lord Byron and composer Mozart are two hugely productive artists now believed to have been sufferers.
<P>Besides artistic genius, experts have also linked the disorder to martial heroism. Researchers think that only about 1 percent of the population is bipolar, but between 5 and 15 percent suffer milder symptoms described as cyclothymic disorder.
<P>City life with its constant flurry of human interaction appears to trigger bipolar disorder more than a rural existence. Doctors see highest number of patients in spring, when daylight and thus the euphoric phase increases. What causes the disorder is excessive or irregular secretion of dopamine, which increases concentration and desire, serotonin, which controls mood, and norepinephrine, which affects activity levels.
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<P>It can be treated with medication balancing these chemicals in the brain, and some 70-80 percent of treatment is with through prescription drugs, with the rest relying on psychotherapy. With steady treatment, the effects can be seen within a year, says Prof. Han Chang-Su, a psychiatrist at Korea University’s Ansan Hospital. But patients sometimes neglect their treatment and suffer a relapse, which means it can take three years or more to get it under control.” </P>
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