This weeks’ topic is Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar disorder (BD) has two types; one and two. BD 1 is characterized by manic and depressive episodes while BD 2 by hypomania and depression. Mania is an excited mental state characterized by physical hyperactivity. Hypomania is just a less severe form of mania. The fact that the exact mechanism underlying the pathology of BD is unknown is not unusual among mental illnesses. There are several hypotheses to why BP occurs. The particular pathway involving a signaling molecule, arachidonic acid, currently prevails as the most plausible. Arachidonic acid (AA) is a chemical signaling molecule. In the brain, AA acts as a signaling molecule that leads to various biological effects. Many of the metabolites, or breakdown products of AA, lead to inflammation.
Bipolar
There are three principal drugs involved in treating BD; Lithium, sodium valproate and carbamazepine. It is unknown how exactly these drugs act. It is known that they all lead to reduction of the Arachidonic acid pathway. This is why the AA cascade is believed to be involved in BD.
There are many questions surrounding bipolar disorder. The arachidonic acid pathway is just one mechanism that may explain the disorder. How much of the disease is caused by genetics, environmental factors or nutritional imbalances in undetermined. Due to the fact that so much is unknown, science and medicine should be hesitant to both rule out and accept hypothesis. It is entirely possible that hypothesis other than the AA pathway are involved in BD. The brain is a complicated, mysterious place but that is what makes it so interesting.
Bipolar Disorder
