A genetic variant associated with bipolar disorder is reported this week in Nature Genetics. Bipolar disorder is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting more than 1% of the population.

Pamela Sklar and colleagues from The Psychiatric GWAS Consortium Bipolar Disorder Working Group report an association study of bipolar disorder from 16,731 individuals and a replication sample of 46,918 individuals. They identify a genetic variant in the ODZ4 gene that is associated with bipolar disorder. The authors suggest a pathway comprised of subunits of calcium channels as influencing risk of bipolar disorder.