Treatment resistant and complex psychosis – part one

Date: Monday 23 June
Time: 2.00pm - 3.15pm

Overview

Dr Luis Alameda will speak about childhood trauma and its impact on clinical profile and outcome in psychotic disorders. His talk will cover the latest evidence on how childhood trauma in the form of abuse and neglect can shape the clinical and functional profile of people with psychosis at the various stages of the illness, including how it relates to outcomes. Underlying mechanisms will be presented along with potential avenues for treatment for those living with psychosis who have a severe trauma history.

Dr Katie Beck will give a talk entitled, "Targeting the glutamate system to treat schizophrenia". Multiple lines of evidence suggest potential alterations in the glutamate system and the glutamate receptor, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, among individuals with schizophrenia. This discussion will explore the latest findings from these studies and their implications for drug development, and present the latest evidence concerning novel drugs targeting the glutamate system in schizophrenia. The talk will  critically review the successes and setbacks in drug discovery for these targets, and the potential utility of neuroimaging biomarkers in guiding future drug development efforts in this area. 

Professor Sir Robin Murray will close the session by updating us on one of pharmacology’s great attributional challenges. In his talk entitled, “Why clozapine works in Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia becomes clearer” he will summarise the existing and emergent evidence on why some people respond to clozapine and others do not.

 

In this session you will:

  • Understand the relationship between childhood trauma and clinical profile and outcomes in psychotic disorders, along with evidence on how this may be approached
  • Acquire an understanding of the role and potential for treatment of the glutamate system in schizophrenia
  • Learn about the latest insights on factors  accounting for the success or otherwise of treatment with clozapine

Speakers

Chair: Professor Fiona Gaughran, National Psychosis Unit, London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London and Professor Suzanne Reeves, University College London, London

Childhood trauma and its impact on clinical profile and outcome in psychotic disorders, mechanism and potential targets for treatment

Dr Luis Alameda, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland

Targeting the glutamate system to treat schizophrenia

Dr Katie Beck, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London

Looking afresh at the high rates and poor outcome of psychosis in black patients

Professor Sir Robin Murray, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, National Psychosis Unit, South London and Maudsley Foundation Trust, London

 

Please email congress@rcpsych.ac.uk or call 020 8618 4120 with any enquiries.