The NEW face of NARSAD

by Josh Okun, NARSAD Manager of Web Services

The past couple of months at NARSAD have been filled with exciting new ideas, creative improvements to online and print publications, and hours of trial and error. With new staff members joining the NARSAD team, and fresh organizational goals and perspectives set in place, a positive and upbeat energy has permeated throughout the office.

One new idea recently generated by some of the brilliant minds at NARSAD was the brand new eNewsletter – eNews from NARSAD. This is the newest publication to be offered by NARSAD, full of great content, photos, links to relevant articles and stories, and more. eNews from NARSAD is the first email communication with our constituents to be delivered consistently every month. eNews from NARSAD can be viewed online at: http://www.narsad.org/?q=node/12078/enews. I encourage you to subscribe to this monthly online publication so you can stay updated with NARSAD news, mental health research findings, and upcoming NARSAD events.

Another big project I have been working on (with a great team of colleagues) is Team Up for NARSAD (honestly, just about everyone on the NARSAD staff web page had a hand in developing Team Up!). This awesome event has been a work-in-progress for almost five months and I was so excited (and still am) to launch Team Up this past Tuesday! It took meeting after meeting with different staff members to really flesh out all of the ideas behind this unique online fundraising initiative. Not to mention the hours of time I’ve spent testing the platform and software (big thanks to the support team at Global Cloud). After months of hard work and planning, Team Up for NARSAD opened to the public and in just three days lots of people have registered, several teams have been created and the fundraising efforts are already contributing to finding cures for mental health disorders!

Doesn’t Team Up for NARSAD sound like fun? Check it out at http://www.narsad.org/teamup. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up and create (or join) a team.

Champion the cause!

Team Up for NARSAD!

The Making of eNews from NARSAD

 

by Barbara Wheeler, NARSAD manager of communications and media relations

Wednesday NARSAD sent out the first edition of its eNewsletter. eNews from NARSAD is designed to bring readers stories of scientific breakthrough, discovery and recovery each month.

In the creation of this issue of eNews from NARSAD I had the opportunity to interview NARSAD donor Sylvia Hughes for the recovery story – a story about Sylvia’s grandson who was diagnosed “on the spectrum” of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) when he was 2. Her grandson turned 8 this week and Sylvia shared some of the challenges and joys of being “Nana” to her grandson. I was touched by Sylvia’s concern and affection for her grandson. She told me grandmother stories of LEGO obsessions and teaching him to ride his bike.

Sylvia also shared her conviction that NARSAD-funded scientists will make a difference in her grandson’s life and the lives of others suffering from the broad range of mental illnesses and brain-related behavior disorders. She also has a son living with schizo-affective disorder.

Seeing this issue of eNews from NARSAD come together with stories of scientific research and the people who support breakthroughs and discoveries was exciting. One in four people in the United States lives with severe mental illness. That makes the work of NARSAD ­– finding causes and improved treatments for mental health disorders – all the more relevant.

Find eNews from NARSAD online. Read it. Share it and subscribe.

Research for Better Lives

by Barbara Wheeler, NARSAD manager of communications and media relations

I’ve been working at NARSAD for just over a month and am continuously learning how brain scientists are unraveling the mysteries of mental illness.

Last week, I edited summaries of research proposals from NARSAD 2010 Independent Investigators – researchers at the leading edge of discovery within neuroscience and psychiatry. Their work spans a wide range of mental health research. They are doing basic research, identifying new technologies and developing diagnostic tools to enable improved treatments and lead to cures for a broad range of mental health disorders.

Reading these research proposals, I realize how much we already know about brain function, as well as how much there is still to learn. NARSAD researchers have been making discoveries for decades, and continue to do so, developing more advanced treatments for people living with brain-related behavioral disorders. For people affected by mental illness – patients, and their families and friends – the research and science discoveries are promising steps toward alleviating their suffering.

Discovering a new diagnostic technique or treatment for schizophrenia, identifying genetic variations of autism spectrum disorder, finding effective tools to help people struggling to live with depression are all topics of NARSAD-funded research. New discoveries can improve the lives of 1 in 4 Americans that live with mental health disorders. This research is to improve people’s lives. NARSAD has already funded 57 scientists with $5.7 million this year (22 more scientists than 2009), investing in breakthroughs – to find a cure.

In the News

This week there are two topics of note related to mental health in the news. First, a recent NARSAD-funded study on the effects of the drug ketamine in treating severe depression in patients with bipolar disorder continues to make headlines. NARSAD Young and Independent Investigator, Dr. Carlos Zarate Jr., led the research that has been reported in TIME magazine, The New York Times and other news outlets. In the New York Times article, Dr. Dost Ongur, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard, said, “This is a solid piece of work that really has the potential for being a true advance. There is real hope, there is real excitement around this, even though there is skepticism from some quarters.”

Dr. Zarate’s complete findings were reported in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Also of interest this week was a two-part series of stories from NPR on mental illness in India. The series opens with shocking statistics: “One psychiatrist for every 400,000 people living in India, according to a recent study by the Indian government. It is one of the lowest ratios anywhere in the world.” The series goes on to explore the social stigma that exists around mental illness in India. The series has resonated with listeners/readers who themselves (or friends and family) face such stigma here in the United States.

We Care About People: NARSAD 2010 Klerman and Freedman Awards

“We care about people.” This comment was made by NARSAD Scientific Council member Dr. Samuel Keith during the dinner discussion at the NARSAD 2010 Klerman and Freedman Awards event, July 30, where five outstanding scientists were honored for their groundbreaking research in mental health disorders.

The five are NARSAD Young Investigators, recipients of recent past grants that supported their work related to schizophrenia, pediatric bipolar disorder, and addiction and substance abuse disorders. They come from across the United States with bios that reflect their dedication to research into finding causes, improved treatments and cures for mental health disorders. They spoke passionately about their research and over and over expressed sincere thanks to NARSAD donors for their generous support of cutting-edge research. Without NARSAD support, their research projects may not have gotten off the ground.

That’s the thing about NARSAD. The commitment to funding the best and brightest early in their research means they will stay the course and continue to do research in the mental health field. As these researchers move along their path of discovery they will make breakthroughs, find new treatments and inevitably make a difference in the lives of people living with mental illness.

They care about people. Their scientific research is changing lives of people with mental health disorders. NARSAD researchers are committed to finding the cures of the future.

2010 KLERMAN AWARDS
Mani N. Pavuluri, M.D., Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago
Daniel P. Dickstein, M.D., Bradley Hospital/Brown University

2010 FREEDMAN AWARD
David A. Baker, Ph.D., Marquette University

2010 FREEDMAN AWARD HONORABLE MENTIONS
Vincent P. Ferrera, Ph.D., Columbia University
Benjamin D. Philphot. Ph.D., University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill

Read more about their research at www.narsad.org.

2010 Klerman/Freedman Award winners

DSM-5: Shaping the Future of Psychiatric Diagnosis

The American Psychiatric Association has released a draft of the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) for public review at www.dsm5.org.

How is NARSAD involved? First, nine NARSAD scientists are members of the task force reviewing the manual. These include members of the NARSAD Scientific Council, NARSAD Young Investigators, NARSAD Distinguished Investigators, NARSAD Independent Investigators, award-winners and more. An impressive group! The task force is developing “criteria for diagnoses that not only reflect new advances in the science and conceptualization of mental disorders, but also reflect the needs of our patients.”

DSM-5 is reviewed periodically to incorporate developments in neurological science and new knowledge about how the brain is affected by genetics and the environment. As science and research advance, methods of diagnosis and treatments advance, too.

DSM-5 will provide a common language of criteria for diagnosing mental disorders. This is critical for doctors treating patients, as well as researchers (including NARSAD researchers) looking for new treatments and cures. The criteria give researchers a standard diagnosis and treatment to compare among patients, leading to the discovery of risk factors and causes for psychiatric disorders.

NARSAD scientific research and the lives of people living with mental illness are sure to be influenced by the new DSM-5. Give your feedback to the DSM-5 draft at www.dsm5.org.