Santiago Apóstol Hospital in Vitoria-Gasteiz has been awarded first prize for research at the 7th International Meeting on the Early Phases of Mental Illness which took place at the end of November in Santander. The work showed biomarkers in blood that are associated with the prognosis of psychosis and cognitive capacity of the patients.

The award-winning research, entitled “List of neurotrophic factors with cognition and the prognosis of first psychotic episodes”, brings together the efforts of basic researchers, led by Professor Carlos Matute from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and physicians from Osakidetza hospitals (the Basque Health Service). Research was coordinated by Ana González-Pinto, Head of the Research Unit in the Psychiatry service of the hospital and Professor at the University UPV/EHU.

The study of these neurotrophic factors in the diagnosis of psychosis has resulted in a joint patent between the University of the Basque Country and Osakidetza. According to Dr. González-Pinto, “the results of this work open new research routes in pharmacology, as the markers we have found are related with the cerebral neurotrophic factors that regulate the repair of neurones and learning, and drugs could be designed to act on these therapy targets”.

Psychosis is an illness that affects around 2% of the population, mainly young people. One of the challenges for the health system is to diagnose and treat these patients correctly from the first episode and to apply the best treatment from the start. “The discovery of the relationship between the neurotrophic factors and psychosis will allow us to identify subgroups of patients and develop different strategies for each of them”, thinks Dr. González-Pinto.

González-Pinto is also the president of the Basque-Navarran Society for Psychiatry (SVNP) and a principal researcher within the biomedical research network in mental health (CIBERSAM).

As well as participating in CIBERSAM, the Santiago Apóstol Hospital of Vitoria collaborates with centres in five other Spanish Autonomous Communities in the Research Network into Mental Illnesses (REM-TAP), financed by the Carlos III Health Institute to perform research into mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.