Anyone heard of BioHacking? What are your thoughts as far as DIY gene therapy for Bipolar?

[NotCordelia]

I feel I've got nothing to lose. I am over 40. Saw a series about amateur biohackers. With my science background, I may be able to join this community. I have been searching for something that I could get passionate about again, a reason to live. Something that has a community searching for answers to diseases that affect quality and length of life. Mental illnesses cause profound morbidity and often early mortality. If you had the chance to try experimental gene therapy, would you take it?

why or why not? What would you pay, if anything? How would you go about finding people to collaborate with?

I have been too cognitively impaired by my depressive episodes to trust myself enough right now.....
I do not want to live through another cycle

 

[Wallace]

Gene therapy for bipolar? There's hundred, if not thousands of genes that go into how are brains work, and we know very little about them. I think you may be out of luck there. I don't think you can change anything more than maybe fixing a point mutation or two, anything greater has too high a risk of disruption.

 

[NotCordelia]

Gene therapy for bipolar? There's hundred, if not thousands of genes that go into how are brains work, and we know very little about them. I think you may be out of luck there. I don't think you can change anything more than maybe fixing a point mutation or two, anything greater has too high a risk of disruption.

Wish it was a less complex condition genetically. ... gotta keep trying with meds.

 

[the box is empty]

I've heard the term of biohacking. Not sure what it entails.

Have you considered ECT? I've heard mixed things but the negatives don't seem too bad depending on your personal situation.

 

[Giraffey]

Not sure what method you would be using but I imagine that CAS9 would be the go-to for a DIY biohacker. The problem is that by default it's not very accurate, and the techniques needed to boost the accuracy dramatically increase the skill, complexity and lab equipment you need to make edits. As others have said too, there are hundreds, if not thousands of individual mutations that have been linked to disorders like Bipolar and there just isn't the research there which you'd need to guide you.

You could, in theory, end up knocking all of the mutations, only to find that there is no difference as the mutations were simply the trigger - the damage already done.

But don't let that put you off biohacking. I used to have great fun engineering glow in the dark bacteria and the like - although granted, I never transferred any of these experiments to myself. If it gives you a positive focus then you should definitely explore that if you have the existing knowledge base to build upon. For now though, I'd explore some of the existing alternative treatments, be they different meds, ECT or even DBS etc.

 

[NotCordelia]

Not sure what method you would be using but I imagine that CAS9 would be the go-to for a DIY biohacker. The problem is that by default it's not very accurate, and the techniques needed to boost the accuracy dramatically increase the skill, complexity and lab equipment you need to make edits. As others have said too, there are hundreds, if not thousands of individual mutations that have been linked to disorders like Bipolar and there just isn't the research there which you'd need to guide you.

You could, in theory, end up knocking all of the mutations, only to find that there is no difference as the mutations were simply the trigger - the damage already done.

But don't let that put you off biohacking. I used to have great fun engineering glow in the dark bacteria and the like - although granted, I never transferred any of these experiments to myself. If it gives you a positive focus then you should definitely explore that if you have the existing knowledge base to build upon. For now though, I'd explore some of the existing alternative treatments, be they different meds, ECT or even DBS etc.

thanks for your reply. Feeling crappy rn so short reply.
I have ideas for editing plant sequences. That may be a better place to start to enjoy it as a hobby. I would love a bioluminescent succulent! Solving the world's problems or my own may not be a good goal. As a hobby, I would most likely enjoy it. The complexities and risks involved make experimenting on humans or even animals something left to the experts! LOL

 

[Wallace]

thanks for your reply. Feeling crappy rn so short reply.
I have ideas for editing plant sequences. That may be a better place to start to enjoy it as a hobby. I would love a bioluminescent succulent! Solving the world's problems or my own may not be a good goal. As a hobby, I would most likely enjoy it. The complexities and risks involved make experimenting on humans or even animals something left to the experts! LOL

There's some hobby groups out there that can insert fluorescent proteins into plants using relatively simple methods. You could do that for a few hundred bucks.