| |
| For any Silver Ribbon related issues, kindly Click Here |
| |
| For any website related issues, kindly Click Here |
|
| Mental Health Research |
|
Clinical research refers to studies in which people participate as patients or volunteers. Different terms are used to describe clinical research, including clinical studies, clinical trials, studies, research, trials, and protocols. Clinical research may have a number of goals, such as developing new treatments or medications and evaluating their effectiveness and safety in different populations, identifying causes of illness including genetic factors, studying the rate and trend of diseases, and access and barriers to health care.
The medical treatments that we have today and which have saved countless lives and improved the quality of life of many others would not have been possible without research and research participants. Thanks to help from volunteers, medical researchers are learning more and more about the causes of mental and behavioral disorders, and are finding new ways to treat and prevent illnesses. Without this important relationship between research participants and those studying their illnesses, it would be much more difficult to improve health treatments. Volunteers of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds are needed and it is only with their help and support, can researchers learn how diseases affect different people and which treatments would work.
There are very strict rules and regulations to protect the safety and rights of research participants. There are special bodies set up to ensure this – these include Institutional Review Boards and drug regulatory agencies like the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore. Some studies involve promising new treatments that may directly benefit participants. Others do not directly benefit participants, but may help scientists learn better ways to help people. Confidentiality is an important part of clinical research and ensures that personal information is seen only by those authorized to have access. It also means that the personal identity and all medical information of research are known only to the individual patient and researchers. Results from a study will usually be presented only in terms of trends or overall findings and will not mention specific participants.
People sometimes think that participating in a study will require changes to their current treatment, but this is not always the case although some studies may require participants to try new medications or treatments. Other studies that use techniques such as brain scans, psychological tests, behavioral observation, or blood tests to understand the biological mechanisms of diseases or even normal mental and physical functions may not require any change in treatment.
Silver Ribbon (Singapore) collaborates with Institute of Mental Health and other agencies to update you on the recruitment for ongoing study:-
1st STUDY
Elucidating the Genetic Architecture of Neurocognitive Endophenotypes in Schizophrenia
Purpose:
To investigate genetic factors for both the healthy and schizophrenic Chinese population in Singapore. As there are also on-going large-scale genetic association study of schizophrenia being done in the western population, our study will be complementary for comparison with the ongoing efforts in western populations.
Time required is 3 hours. Subject will be assessed by psychologist using questionnaires to test for attention, memory and thinking. We will draw from you a small sample of blood. This sample will be 20mL, which equals to about 4 teaspoons. You will be paid an inconvenience fee.
Criteria to fulfill:
- 21 - 55 years of age
- Diagnosed as having schizophrenia (DSM diagnosis)
- Chinese ethnicity
- Speak and write English
- Primary 6 education and above
- No neurological disease or head injury
- No history of alcohol or drug abuse
- No colour blindness and No first degree relatives who have taken part in the study
You can be assessed at either of the following two sites for the study:
Research Division, Institute of Mental Health
10 Buangkok View Block 7, Level 1, Buangkok Green Medical Park Singapore 539747
Community Wellness Centre
580 Stirling Road, Level 4, Singapore 148958
To learn more and participate in this study, please call the Research Coordinator at:
Tel: 9113 5580 or 9113 8041 from 8.30 am - 5.30 pm (Mon - Fri).
2nd STUDY
Participants Needed For Longitudinal Youth at Risk Study (LYRIKS)
The Research Division of the Institute of Mental Health is conducting a research study entitled, ‘LONGITUDINAL YOUTH AT RISK STUDY (LYRIKS)’.
The Principal Investigator of this study is Associate Professor Chong Siow Ann (Vice-Chairman Medical Board Research and Senior Consultant, IMH).
The study involves multiple visits over a period of 2 years. You will undergo a screening and if you meet the criteria, you will be eligible to participate in the study. You will be assessed using questionnaires to test for emotional difficulties or problems, attention, memory and thinking. Some of your personal data, such as age and gender, will also be collected. We will draw a small sample of blood from you 3 times over the period of 2 years. If you are agreeable, some of you will be invited for brain imaging on 2-3 occasions over the study period. You will be paid an inconvenience fee.
Study Participants Must Be:
- 14- 29 years of age
- Of any ethnicity
- Speak and write English
- Primary 6 education and above
- No neurological disease or head injury
- No history of alcohol or drug abuse
You can be assessed at either of the following two sites for the study:
Research Division, Institute of Mental Health
10 Buangkok View Block 7, Level 1, Buangkok Green Medical Park Singapore 539747
Community Wellness Centre
580 Stirling Road, Level 4, Singapore 148958
To learn more and participate in this study, please call the Research Coordinator at:
Tel:9234 1641 or 9298 0954 between 8.30am - 5.30pm (Mon - Fri).
|
|
|
