Research is central to the Mindgardens clinic model. The clinics will collect uniquely detailed data on how their patients respond to treatments and combinations of treatments, giving researchers exceptional scope to explore new hypotheses. Researchers in turn will generate findings from this data, which can quickly inform treatment protocols. Patients, their families and their GPs are respected as essential collaborators in Mindgardens’ promotion of research, education and training.
In Phase 1, Mindgardens is focusing on two important research studies whose results will have immediate relevance for clinical practice.
Study 1: The Clinical Course of Bipolar Disorder
Project lead: Dr Jan Fullerton (NeuRA)
Who is it for?
Up to 3 per cent of people experience bipolar disorder, in which cycles of high and low mood can have a severe impact on personal wellbeing, relationships and ability to function in work or education.
What is it about?
Medicare and hospital records for participants in the Sax Institute’s ongoing 45 and Up study will be linked to questionnaire data about their health and quality of life. For those participants who have a bipolar disorder diagnosis this linkage will provide an accurate snapshot of their health care, how this compares to people who do not have bipolar disorder, and most importantly whether the treatment they receive helps them to recover and stay well.
The study is especially promising in its potential to shed light on how people with bipolar disorder use and respond to medications, and engage with health services, in their real lives; most information to date has come from clinical trials where medicines are taken according to strict protocols and patients are closely monitored over short periods of time, which may distort the conclusions.
This project will also use state-of-the-art whole genome sequencing of DNA samples from a subset of 1,200 participants, allowing the researchers to search for genetic indicators of risk for developing bipolar disorder or for poorer prognosis and outcome, and potentially for predicting which medications will be most effective for individuals.
Which organisations are involved?
- NeuRA
- Mindgardens Clinic – Tertiary Referral Service for Psychosis
- Mindgardens Clinic for Depression
- UNSW
- ax Institute – 45 and Up study
- NSW Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL)
- NSW Health Statewide Biobank
- NSW Health Pathology
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Study 2: Depression and Pain: A Feasibility Trial
Project lead: Associate Professor James McAuley (NeuRA)
Who is it for?
People with chronic health conditions such as heart disease, stroke and low back pain are more likely also to have a mental health diagnosis. For example, major depression is four times as common in people with back pain, while as many as half of people who have major depression also experience physical pain of various types.
What is it about?
Evidence suggests that if pain is treated effectively, depression may also improve.
People who participate in this Mindgardens study will follow a regime that combines exercise physiology with an NMDA receptor antagonist medication. Each approach has been shown separately to have a positive effect on pain and depression, and the team will now assess whether these effects are amplified when people use both together. Over six weeks, they will attempt first to reduce the intensity of the pain people experience, and then use specialised physical exercises to retrain key brain functions to promote long-term improvements in depression and related disability.
Which organisations are involved?
- NeuRA
- Mindgardens Clinic for Depression
- UNSW
- Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network
- Black Dog Institute