The clinical sample was obtained from the Prechter Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder.39 Subjects contributing a skin sample were from a psychiatric clinic in a mid-western college city, Caucasian, and were diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder, or healthy unaffected controls were ascertained through advertising on the University of Michigan Clinical Studies website. All participants were assessed clinically using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies.40 BP patients were determined by clinical evaluation to have a chronic disorder with mood symptoms most of the time, age of onset ranging from 15 to 23 years. Two of three Bipolar 1 Disorder patients were considered lithium responsive and all had exposures to antidepressant, anticonvulsants and antipsychotic medications. One patient had comorbid panic disorder and a second patient was treated for metabolic syndrome with a statin (rosuvastatin) and an oral hypoglycemic (pioglitazone). A second patient was receiving levothyroxine. Two patients and two controls were 50±5 years age and the other pair were aged 30 and 34 years at time of sample. Four patients were male and two were female.
