OVER A DECADE OF STUDIES IN BIPOLAR DISORDER HIGH RISK POPULATIONS: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT AND WHAT ARE THE GAPS?

Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a highly familial condition, with a heritability of at least 70%, and with10-15% of first-degree relatives developing this illness. Unlike schizophrenia, there is no distinct prodromal (ultra high-risk) syndrome, making development of early intervention treatment programs difficult. Studies of high-risk young people with a family history of BD provide the potential for identifying clinical and/or biological changes that either predate or occur early in the development of BD, thereby presenting targets for early intervention therapies. This symposium will focus on what has been learnt from over a decade of BD high-risk studies globally, and what remains unknown or uncertain. Speakers will address these issues from both their own cohorts and the field more broadly. This symposium will comprise presentations by:

• i)
  John Nurnberger - Emeritus Professor, University of Indiana, USA. He led the NIMH Genetics Initiative Bipolar Group. His group has been active in the Bipolar Genome Study Consortium and in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. He established the US BD high-risk consortium, with sites at the universities of Indianapolis and Michigan, as well as Johns Hopkins University;
• ii)
  Janice Fullerton - Principal Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia and Conjoint Associate Professor, University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Jan will present genetics and neuroimaging data from the Australian Bipolar Kids and Sibs high-risk cohort;
• iii)
  Kathryn Freeman is a Research Assistant on the FORBOW Project, and PhD Student in Medical Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, Canada. Kate will present on bipolar disorder offspring findings from the FORBOW study; and
• iv)
  Philip Mitchell - Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales in Sydney who established the Australian Bipolar Kids and Sibs high-risk cohort. He will present findings from the 10-year follow-up of this sample.