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Archives for May 2019

Join our patient advisory group for a new research study!

  • Do you have experience of treatment resistant depression either as a patient or a carer?
  • Are you interested in medical research?
  • Would you like to share your experience and interest to contribute to a new research study?

We are setting up a Patient Advisory Group for a new research trial that will evaluate the drug pramipexole as add-on treatment for people with treatment resistant depression.

The Patient Advisory Group will help ensure the research is both relevant and feasible, including reviewing the trial design and helping develop information for trial participants.

Members of the Patient Advisory Group will have expenses paid plus be offered reimbursement for their time, as outlined in Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre’s payment policy.

Further details about what membership of the group will involve, and an outline of the study, can be found in the Patient Advisory Group Outline document.

We are looking for between 4-6 people to join the group, and ask that members:

  • Have experience of treatment resistant depression either as a patient or a carer
  • Have an interest in medical research
  • Are willing to share your experience as a patient or carer, and your reflections on how someone with similar experience may respond to various aspects of the study design
  • Have a willingness to listen to, and consider, different perspectives and opinions

If you would like to join the group send us your expression of interest, outlining how you meet these criteria, by email to james.griffiths@psych.ox.ac.uk .

We encourage interested people to get in touch with us as soon as possible. The deadline for expressions of interest is 13 June 2019, but if we receive a large number of contacts we may fill all the spaces in the group before this date.

https://oxfordhealthbrc.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PAX-D-Patient-Advisory-Group-Outline-FINAL.pdf

Mental Health and Dementia Research Open Day

Experts from the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Clinical Research Facility (CRF) came together on Monday 20th May to showcase their latest research at our annual mental health and dementia open day.

The event was opened by BRC Director Professor John Geddes who surveyed the current landscape in mental health funding and explained how Oxford will continue to grow and develop as a centre of excellence for mental health and dementia research.

Many of the day’s talks focused on the ways research translates into direct benefits for patients. Professor Clare Mackay, Theme Lead for Older Adults and Dementia, spoke about plans to establish a brain health centre in Oxford and its potential to improve treatment for patients experiencing memory problems.

From the Precision Psychological Therapies theme Dr Sinead Lambe and Dr Laina Rosebrock introduced the gameChange clinical trial. This study tests an automated psychological therapy for people with severe mental health difficulties. The delivery of this kind of therapy using virtual reality could transform the provision of psychological therapy in the NHS.

Claire Murray, Patient and Public Involvement Manager at Oxford Health talked us through a year in the life of patient and public involvement with Patient Co-chair of the Patients and Research Group, Julia Hamer-Hunt. You can read more about their achievements in the latest PPI progress report.

The open day concluded with a review of the Informatics and Digital Health theme from Theme Lead Professor Andrea Cipriani with Sophie Walker who provided an update on a pilot to make consent for research contact easier. It is hoped that this project will ultimately give more patients the opportunity to participate in research.

Exhibition stands at the Open Day

In addition to attending the programme of talks, attendees had the opportunity to visit a selection of exhibition stands to find out more about specific projects and speak to researchers directly.

Jointly hosted by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and NIHR Clinical Research Facility (CRF), the open day took place on International Clinical Trials Day (ICTD). ICTD celebrates the contribution of volunteer participants to research and this year marked the launch of NIHR’s Be Part of Research campaign encouraging more of us to get involved.

SUSANA Survey to Increase Understanding of the Side Effects of Antidepressants in Adults

Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre has launched an international survey to gather information about the side effects of antidepressants. Aimed at both patients and prescribers, results of the survey will be used to develop personalised treatment for depression in real-world clinical settings. The project is led by an international team of researchers, scientists and clinicians and coordinated by BRC Informatics and Digital Health Theme lead Andrea Cipriani. 

Nearly 71 million prescriptions for antidepressants were given out in the UK in 2018 – nearly twice as many as ten years ago. Antidepressants are an effective treatment for depression but their side effects can be a reason for people to stop taking their prescribed medication.

Side effects of antidepressants can be extremely debilitating and are one of the main reasons that people stop taking the drugs. It is crucial that we understand which side effects are the most troublesome and intolerable to patients and which antidepressants cause these specific side effects. 

Dr Anneka Tomlinson

What is the SUSANA survey?

The SUSANA survey is a large-scale, international, online survey of antidepressant side effects funded by the National Institute for Health Research. The survey will increase our understanding of which side effects matter most to patients and their doctors. This data will contribute to the development of a clinical decision-making tool to be used in the NHS and will help ensure patients receive medication they are best able to tolerate.

SUSANA is an easy-to-complete international survey (in three different languages) designed with input from academic researchers, psychiatrists, psychologists, patients, carers and social media experts/influencers to better understand what really matters to patients and clinicians in terms of side effects from short and long-term treatment with antidepressants

Professor Andrea Cipriani

Who can take part in the survey?

The SUSANA survey is aimed at all adult patients (aged over 18), with a history of depression who are taking or have taken antidepressant medication. The survey is also aimed at professionals involved in prescribing antidepressants including doctors, GPs and nurse and pharmacist prescribers. The survey can be found here https://elfi.sh/SUSANAsurvey

SUSANA will run for at least a month and results from the survey will be analysed by independent statisticians using the latest techniques for advanced data analysis.

A press release for the SUSANA survey is available here.