Patent ID: 7687235

Claim:
A method for facilitating the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in a human subject, the method comprising the steps of: (i) obtaining a dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (AnCg), or lymphocyte sample from said subject; (ii) measuring the level of major histocompatibility complex, class II, DP alpha 1 (HLA-DPA1) mRNA transcription in said sample using nucleic acid probes complementary to HLA-DPA1 mRNA; (iii) comparing the level of measured HLA-DPA1 mRNA transcription in said sample to the level of HLA-DPA1 mRNA transcription in a control population that does not have bipolar disorder, wherein a decreased level of HLA-DPA1 mRNA relative to the control population indicates an increased likelihood of bipolar disorder in said subject; and (iv) recording or reporting a diagnosis of an increased likelihood of bipolar disorder in said subject based on said comparing.