Innovative solutions to novel drug development in mental health

Summary & key facts

This paper is a review that looks at new ideas in brain science that might help make better treatments for mental illness. The authors say we should use 'biomarkers' — a mix of genes, brain scans, thinking tests, and other biological measures — to find who will benefit from which treatments. They describe both drug and non-drug approaches, note that some ideas already have early clinical support, and call for better training for clinician-researchers and more sharing between companies and public scientists so new, more complete treatments can reach people sooner.

Key facts:

• This article is a review, meaning it summarizes recent advances and suggests future directions rather than reporting a new experiment.
• The authors recommend a biomarker approach, which means combining genetic tests, brain imaging, cognitive tests, and other biological measures to better understand and treat mental disorders.
• They highlight both drug and non-drug treatment ideas and point out some new mechanisms that already have early clinical support, but these are still preliminary.
• The paper stresses the need to train clinician-scientists differently so they have the skills to run these kinds of studies and interpret biological measures.
• The authors call for more private–public partnerships and early sharing of knowledge before competition, so research can move faster and more efficiently.
• The intended result of these steps is more holistic treatments aimed at improving thinking, day-to-day functioning, and overall well-being for people with neuropsychiatric disorders, though the paper describes plans and possibilities rather than proven new therapies.

Abstract

There are many new advances in neuroscience and mental health which should lead to a greater understanding of the neurobiological dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders and new developments for early, effective treatments. To do this, a biomarker approach combining genetic, neuroimaging, cognitive and other biological measures is needed. The aim of this article is to highlight novel approaches for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment development. This article suggests approaches that can be taken in the future including novel mechanisms with preliminary clinical validation to provide a toolbox for mechanistic studies and also examples of translation and back-translation. The review also emphasizes the need for clinician-scientists to be trained in a novel way in order to equip them with the conceptual and experimental techniques required, and emphasizes the need for private-public partnership and pre-competitive knowledge exchange. This should lead the way for important new holistic treatment developments to improve cognition, functional outcome and well-being of people with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Topics

Functional Brain Connectivity Studies Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Cognition Computer science Drug Drug development Economics Finance General partnership Mental health Neuroimaging Neuroscience Programming language Psychiatry Psychology Psychotherapist Toolbox

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Depression PTSD