Professor Preben Bo Mortensen, Denmark : "iPSYCH: studying nature and nurture in mental disorders in Denmark"
Speaker :
Professor Preben Bo Mortensen
National Centre for Register-based Research, Aarhus University, Denmark
Title: "iPSYCH: studying nature and nurture in mental disorders in Denmark"
Abstract: Mental illnesses constitute a large, costly and often devastating part of the global burden of illness. Their etiologies are complex, and to a large extent unknown, but include genetic and environmental factors over the life course. Danish registers and biobanks, together with its homogenous population with access to the same uniform healthcare system provides unique opportunities to explore these complex etiologies at an unprecedented scale. The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH) is a multisite study that combines researchers from six major institutions in Denmark. The group is studying five specific mental disorders; autism, ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression in a representative study population of more than 130.000 persons. The iPSYCH project has studied these disorders from many different angles, ranging from genes and cells to population studies, from fetus to adult, from cause to symptoms of the disorder, and this knowledge will be combined in new ways across scientific fields. The main goals are to identify the causes of these disorders by studying the genetic and environmental factors and thereby find new targets for treatment. The perspective is to offer better and more personalized treatment, providing a better life for each individual patient with the disorder - and perhaps even ways to prevent the development of the disorder in some cases. The 9 year project has been supported by the Lundbeck Foundation (funding DKK 361m; AUD$77 million), and has resulted in over 570 publications. This presentation will provide a broad overview of this program of research and highlight key findings related to the role of genetics and non-genetic risk factors in the etiology and pathogenesis of mental disorders.
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