Antipsychotic Response Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study to investigate the inflammatory, genetic and epigenetic profiles of healthy controls and populations of schizophrenia patients being treated with anti-psychotic medication to develop a new blood test to predict treatment response
IRAS ID
162843
Contact name
Elaine Murray
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Ulster
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating condition affecting approximately 1% of the population. Symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucinations, persistent delusions and cognitive impairments. Despite the availability of antipsychotic medications, treatment is often ineffective or incomplete, leading to prolonged disability with profound impact on the individual, family members, and society as a whole. There is a considerable amount of variability in an individual’s response to antipsychotic medications but the factors that determine response to treatment and likelihood of suffering an adverse side effect are largely unknown. There is currently no test available to determine the likelihood that treatment with an antipsychotic medication will work for a particular individual, and doctors often employ a trial and error approach to identify the most effective treatment option. Recent studies have identified a number of biological markers found in the blood including genes and inflammatory proteins that may be useful in predicting response to treatment when examined alongside clinical data. The proposed study is part of a PhD project, the purpose of which is to develop a blood test that will help doctor’s determine the most appropriate treatment for each patient. To do this we will conduct a feasibility study to establish normal and abnormal levels of a panel of potential biomarkers present in the blood of in patients before and after treatment with antipsychotic medications. We will also compare these biomarkers in patients that respond well to treatment, those who do not respond well to treatment and those who develop adverse side effects. This work will be used to design future studies that may validate this new blood test by observing patient outcomes over a long period of time.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
15/NI/0070
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion