Date: 31 January 2014

Arcitecta, the company behind Mediaflux – the most flexible and comprehensive metadata management platform for complex, distributed data management – is developing a product to improve the capture and management of data from clinical research worldwide.

Using the Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health’s real data from volunteers, Arcitecta will develop a new software product that will:

• enable clinicians to capture clinical data at the bedside, and in a form that is easily accessible to them and other non-expert IT users,

• easily import and export new and existing data,

• enable multiple research institutions to collaborate on multiple trials by allowing them to feed data into the repository for this new product, and,

• be open, allowing users to develop additional functions, as and when they need it.

Read more

Coverage in the press:

Capturing biomarker metadata for mental health research, PULSE+IT Magazine, 3 April 2014.

December 2013

The CRC for Mental Health was established to create impact. It commenced life with a bold vision for translating research into products and methods of practice that can drive transformational changes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses.

The CRC has made impressive progress towards these goals. For example, we have made discoveries that may prove to be the basis of a reliable blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Importantly, our findings point towards implementation using a relatively simple and robust apporach which could be rolled out in existing diagnostic laboratories. We look forward to reporting similar progress in our pursuit of biomarkers for other types of mental illnesses.

A critical aspect of our research is its use of data and biological materials collected from hundreds of volunteers, both affected and unaffected by mental illness. The CRC has benefited enormously from pre-existing biobanks such as the Australian Imaging, Biomarker and Lifestyle Study of Ageing (AIBL), the Geelong Health Study and the West Australian Family Study of Schizophrenia. We are developing our own schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease biobanks and working to ensure these resources endure well beyond the remaining five years of the CRC’s initial term of Commonwealth funding.

We have been fortunate to attract a group of very capable PhD students who along with our postdoctoral researchers have opportunities to interact broadly with the scientific community. We have conducted workshops to broaden their perspectives and foster a proactive apporach to career planning. Our research students have also met with people with mental illness and their carers – an interaction which greatly benefitted all parties.

We have continued to engage with our participants, stakeholders and the wider community. We have developed an education program for primary carers in the aged care system to assist them in understanding the causes and consequences of dementia. We have also conducted a number of highly successful community education events, most notably “Science and Dementia” held during National Science Week.

Next year is a critical time for the CRC. In early 2015, our performance will be reviewed by the Commonwealth. We must be able to demonstrate substantial progress towards creating impact from our research. We are on the verge of such success. Next year, we should drive some of our innovative technology into the commercial domain and involve at least one new commercial enduser organisation in our work. We should also expand our educational activities. Most importantly, we should be confident that our current participants can clearly identify the benefits the CRC has brought to them already, and those we will realise in the future.

The CRC’s successes to date are due to a large number of people across organisations, disciplines and geographic areas working collectively. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all those in the CRC community for their hard work and enthusiasm this year.

Dr Ian Cooke, CEO CRC for Mental Health

Geelong researchers are set to undertake a world-first trial of a new treatment for bipolar depression. 

The treatment involves both a compound called N-acetyl cysteine, known as NAC, which is thought to reduce the effect of underlying physical brain changes, and a combination of potentially energy boosting nutraceutical agents including NAC.

Bipolar disorder affects functioning of the brain, causing people to experience extreme high or low moods. People with bipolar disorder spend three times longer in the depressive phase than in the manic phase.

The Geelong scientists hope the prognosis for sufferers could soon change.

“We know that during bipolar depression, changes happen which affect the body’s ability to detoxify certain compounds. We also know that mitochondria, the cells energy producers, don’t work in the usual way. The drug NAC that we’re trialing and the combination work on both of these problems at once, could lead to quicker recovery”, said Professor Michael Berk, researcher with Barwon Health and the CRC for Mental Health.

The researchers are now seeking volunteers for the trial who are over 18 years of age and have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Geelong resident Nicci Wall has been involved in several of the group’s research projects and is hopeful that researchers will find more effective treatments and ways to identify the disorder at earlier stages.

“Bipolar disorder is a very complex illness and diagnosis and treatment can be difficult.  For myself, I had my first episode at 14 but it took until I was 35 to receive a full diagnosis and treatments that worked for me,”  said Mrs Wall.

“I’ve made the decision to be involved in research projects because as we learn more about the disorder, better treatment and diagnosis options can be developed. People with bipolar disorder tend to wait until they have an acute episode before they see a doctor, but if treatment starts early, better outcomes can be reached.” 

“I’ve found the research trials to be a very calming, unpressured environment. Barwon Health staff really took the time to check how I felt throughout the research and I got the feeling that my well-being was as important as the results.”

The research team for this project has a long association with the Geelong region and a distinguished track record in psychiatry research. In addition to his roles with Barwon Health and the CRC for Mental Health, Professor Berk holds the Alfred Deakin Professor of Psychiatry at Deakin University and holds conjoint Professorial Research Fellowships at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and theUniversity of Melbourne.

Professor Berk’s team is now taking a wait list for the trials, which will begin in April 2013. To volunteer, or for more information, contact 03 4215 3309 or email mitobd@barwonhealth.org.au