HELSENORGE

Personalised medicine in psychosis treatment

In the psychosis project, led by Erik Johnsen, the research group aims to improve the current diagnostics for patients with schizophrenia.

Illustrasjon. Ordsky schizophrenia.
​Currently, the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCZ) relies heavily on psychosis symptoms. Antipsychotic (AP) drugs remain the only effective pharmacological intervention and benefit a majority of people with SCZ (i.e., first-line AP responsive SCZ, FRS). However, around one-third of SCZ cases, known as treatment-resistant SCZ (TRS), are resistant to common first-line AP treatments. People with TRS often benefit from clozapine, a third-line AP with  special properties, however, the administration of clozapine is often delayed for several years due to the lack of clinical tools or biomarkers to predict TRS, resulting in a strong negative impact on overall clinical outcomes. Preliminary clinical evidence suggests that TRS may be heritable and a categorically distinct disorder from FRS, with different underlying biology; however, the differences between and within these clinical populations are not understood in molecular terms. In particular, although individual response to medication has a clear genetic basis, it is unknown which genetic networks underlie the phenotypic signatures of each SCZ subset. As TRS remains an area of significant unmet medical need, identifying biological differences between the two forms of SCZ will accelerate efforts to develop clinical tools for the stratification of SCZ cases at an early stage of the disease, based on initial response to APs. 

Therefore, the overall aim of the project is to uncover functionally important genetic and cellular pathways underlying TRS and FRS that contribute to inter-individual differences in treatment response. Here, we propose an interdisciplinary approach drawing from diverse fields, from clinical psychiatry to molecular biology. We will employ a combination of several state-of-the-art methods, including access to large and well-characterised patient cohorts from longitudinal clinical trials, patient-derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), single-cell transcriptomics, and high-throughput screening. 

Our short-term goal is to determine the cell-type-specific cellular and genetic signatures that underlie abnormalities in neurotransmitter pathways that contribute to the distinct neurobiology of TRS. Our long-term goal is to improve diagnostics, predict clinical trajectories and develop novel therapeutic interventions. 


Project participants​

​Erik J​​​​ohns​​en (PI)

Portrett Erik Johnsen. Foto*
Professor
Psychiatrist and project leader
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry, &
University of Bergen, Department of Clinical Medicine
Tel: 92456225; e-mail: erik.johnsen@helse-bergen.no


R​​une A. K​​​r​oken

Portrett Rune A. Kroken. Foto*
Associate professor
Psychiatrist and senior researcher
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry, &
University of Bergen, Department of Clinical Medicine

Fariva​r Fathia​​n​

Portrett Farivar Fathian. Foto**
Research administrative coordinator
Psychiatrist and senior researcher
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of psychiatry
Tel: 98410975; e-mail: farivar.fathian@helse-bergen.no


Jill ​​​B​​jar​​​ke

Portrett Jill Bjarke. Foto*​
Clinical coordinator
Researcher
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry


Lena S​ta​​be​​ll

Portrett Lena Stabell. Foto*
Database coordinator
Researcher/ PhD-student
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry

Novin Balaf​​kan​

​​*

Postdoc
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry


Sadaf Ghor​​bani

Portrett Sadaf Ghorbani. Foto
Postdoc
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry


Linn A​​aberg

Portrett Linn Aaberg. Foto**​
Research nurse
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry

Ann​​e Blindheim

Portrett Anne Blindheim. Foto
Peer support worker and researcher
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry



Eirik K​​jelby

Portrett Eirik Kjelby. Foto*
Psychiatrist and senior researcher
NORMENT Center of Excellence
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry

 

Ole Krist​​ian Sindland


Portrett Ole Kristian Sindland. Foto
​Psychiatrist and researcher
Haukeland University Hospital, Division of Psychiatry

​Srd​​ja​n Dj​​​urovic​ (co-PI)

Portrett Srdjan Djurovic. Foto

Professor

NORMENT Center of Excellence, University of Bergen & Oslo University Hospital​​

​​Vid​ar​​ M. Steen

Portrett Vidar M. Steen. Foto*

Professor

NORMENT Center of Excellence and Dr. Einar Martens Research Group for Biological Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen​. 


​P​​hoto ​​cred​it 

* Photo by Kirsten ​​​Sjøwall
** Photo by Hans Jørgen Brun​​




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