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Disappointing results from studies searching for structural genetic markers in psychiatric disorders (i.e., disease-specific gene variants) have prompted interest in studying gene expression differences occurring via epigenetic mechanisms (e.g., methylation and acetylation of genes). These researchers determined the degree of expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) in peripheral blood cells and the amount of DNA methylation at the promoter region of BDNF. Participants were 45 patients with bipolar II disorder, 49 patients with bipolar I disorder, and 52 healthy controls.
BDNF expression was lower in bipolar-II patients (but not bipolar-I patients) than in controls. In the bipolar-II subgroup, lower BDNF expression cor…