Mental Illness and Pyschiatric Genes

Psychiatric Genes:

In a lot of ways, the psychiatric field is like playing a game of Russian Roulette in that the testing questionnaires administered to clients/patients in order to determine pathology are inconclusive and arbitrary in nature.  Practitioners often operate within the box in which they were trained for determining the psychiatric illness of a client.   

Anyone who has ever been a psychiatric diagnostic recipient and who has frequented more than one psychiatrist has often discovered that each MD not only labels a different diagnosis but prescribes a different medication as well.  It doesn’t matter whether or not the previous medication administered by the previous MD was effective or not, the new MD will frequently prescribe what s/he knows and is familiar with.  Whether or not this choice in protocol is due to training, comfort levels and/or is kickback incentives from the drug companies, I don't know? (Of course, I'm generalizing here).

In order to determine a psychiatric illness, it is suggested that family, friends, and teachers (if applicable) be part of the comprehensive diagnostic criteria, but due to time constraints and other variables (including possible arrogance of practitioner?), these people are typically not involved in diagnostics.  Perhaps the psychiatric MD is lackadaisical, has a busy schedule and/or is simply not that individually attentive, or caring?  Perhaps there is a lack of current knowledge with respect to available psychiatric genetic testing availability?  It is possible that their trainings were decades ago and their professional development does not require them to keep up with current data beyond the 36 necessary CEUs?  Regardless of individual shortcomings, there is clearly a schism between the psychiatric and the biological communities.

It is not uncommon for an MD to prescribe one medication for a period of time, and then for the client to return to that same MD and for that MD to change the treatment protocol resulting in the administering of another medication. The psychiatric process in and of itself is built in such a way that it can evoke psychiatric illness.

In order to determine mental illness, psychiatrists will often want to administer various multiple choice questionnaires in order to help determine DSM-V diagnoses.  These may cost anywhere from $1000-$5000.   Many of these questionnaires are not substantiated by research and if they are, the research is often skewed.  Literature attests to these facts.  These tests come with disclosures that results are not necessarily indicative of diagnosing the disorder being investigated and that results should be interpreted with caution. MDs are aware of this but patients are typically not.

To eliminate a fraction of subjectivity, LIVIN4d suggests supplementing the psychiatric diagnostic community with examinations of the genetic psychiatric panel.  Many laboratories offer SNPs/markers on a PsychArray genetic panel. The target phenotypic conditions for this chip include: Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Autism-Spectrum disorders, ADHD, Major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anorexia nervosa, and Tourette’s syndrome.  
  
There are more forms of personality genetic tests as well, including non-pathological personality testing such as assays to determine Oxytocin levels based on intrinsic population variances of the neurotransmitter which is genetically located on Chromosome 3p25.  FOX P2 is another personality genetic marker that is non-pathological in nature. It determines language structure and the schematic cognitive pictures associated with spoken and written words.  At San Diego Therapy, examining these genetic personality genes is possible.

A personality genetic test isn’t to say that presence of these personality disorder markers substantiate an individual having a particular disorder as I believe there is just as much ambiguity (maybe slightly less) built into these tests as there is to the arbitrary questioning of a psychiatrist.  In my opinion the ambiguity of genetic personality marker results has to do with secondary and tertiary genes contributing to assuaging deleterious genes and/or usurping their functions.  There are times when the presence of harmful genes  (indicated by testing) do not get expressed due to these 2' and 3' usurping genetic variables coupled with environmental overriding variables.  There is so much we know about genetics, yet there is so much we do not know at the same time.

There are times when genetics create a black and white, easy to interpret scenario such as in Sickle Cell Anemia, which is caused by simple frame shift mutation.  With this mutation, an individual will have sickled blood cells resulting in an inadequate amount of O2 being transported.  Without the mutation, s/he does not have sickled cells.  When an individual is a carrier to the disease, for simplicity purposes, it is like s/he has half the mutation.   Therefore, s/he has some of the effects of decreased O2 transport.  However, the benefit of being a carrier is that the individual has a natural immunity to malaria which is why the disorder remains in the population.  In any case, this genetic mutation is a simple form of a DNA alternation which has observable and direct manifestations of both the (+ and -).

However, when it comes to examining psychiatric disorders, the observable characteristics of the mind are much more complex.  They are typically not black and white scenarios as mentioned above.  

Sometimes a person may exhibit certain psychological “malaria,” and sometimes s/he may not.  There is so much room for personality variances that unless the personality "mutation" is extreme, the ambiguity and subjective nature of personality disorders is quite arbitrary.  Unlike sickle cell anemia, which is black and white in terms of diagnostics, personality disorders are quite fickle in terms of their labeling by practitioners.  Yet, they are treated as if they are set in stone and based on hard science. 

If a person is struggling and seeks out psychiatric help, the MD will diagnose the person in a 20 minute conversation based on the specific questions asked by the doctor and answered by the client.  Do you really think a 20 minute question and answer session is worthy of an entire psychiatric label? I think the process in and of itself is quite "psychologically bipolar" as there are so many inferences made, not to mention “strategic” questions.

I am not suggesting that the psychiatric genetic testing panel is the one and only conclusive method for determining psychiatric illnesses due to the silent genes and other genes that may inhibit expression of “psychiatric illness genes” that we do not yet know about?  What I am suggesting is that it may be beneficial to use some of these psychiatric genetic testing panels in order to help with diagnostics of a client, to help decrease the subjectivity of a 20 minute psychiatrist evaluation, especially in the scenario that the client is exhibiting maladaptive symptomology which might benefit from the use of psychiatric medication.

If you and or your child is suffering from any form of "mental illness" and you are thinking about administering drugs, do yourselves the peace of mind and the favor of looking into a psychiatric drug marker panel.  Afterall, MDs are people too.  They are not better or worse than you.  They do not know more or less than you.  Yes, there training is in a certain facet of life, but who do you think cares the most about you and/or your son or daughter?  YOU DO.  The movie Lorenzo’s Oil speaks to the benefit of parents being proactive in their children’s lives and not just taking and following an MDs orders.

It is important to think for yourselves, do your own research, compile your own data and seek out alternative remedies and or work with an MD who is supportive of such things like compounding pharmacies.  There are many advantageous drugs administered in Europe that have been around for centuries as they are not stuck in clinical trials and the long 10+ year process of FDA approval.

When dealing with psychiatric and or mental issues, it is quite important for you to recognize truth and whether or not the symptoms fit into the psychiatric box.  Don’t let someone label your or your child’s character in a 20 minute evaluation.