Neurotransmitters and signal transduction processes in bipolar affective disorders: a synopsis

New technologies have led to tremendous progress in understanding what toda y we call bipolar disorders, whose clinical diagnosis has been refined cont inuously since Kraepelin first described them. Molecular genetic studies ha ve produced interesting findings, but to date have failed to identify speci fic genes that are so far responsible for the vulnerability to bipolar. dis orders. Biochemical studies in combination with pharmacotherapy give hints that the neurotransmitter function and the related signal transduction may be abnormally regulated. Since all the neurotransmitter circuits are interc onnected, the dysregulation may occur on different levels and it is rather improbable that one single abnormality should account for the disorder. Thi s paper reviews these promising developments. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.