Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust is taking part in the CONNEX study, which is looking to see if a specific medication can improve cognition in people with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a condition that affects people’s mental health in different ways. For example, it can affect a person’s mood or behaviour. It can also affect the way a person thinks, their memory and their mental functioning. Doctors call this ‘cognitive impairment’. Examples include struggling to remember where you put something or finding it difficult to concentrate on a book or a movie.
Cognitive impairments are a core feature of schizophrenia and a major determinant of poor functional outcome. Antipsychotics are the primary medication for schizophrenia, with major effects on the reduction of ‘psychotic’ symptoms but no beneficial effects on cognition. At the moment there are no treatments for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).
That’s why researchers are conducting CONNEX, which aims to see if a new trial medication can improving cognitive impairment and daily functioning, neurocognition and problem solving in an effort to help people with schizophrenia manage their illness better.
The trial is open to any one who is aged between 18 and 50 years of age and has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. They must currently be an outpatient and have not been hospitalised within the last 3 months. They must have some fuctional impairment e.g. trouble staying focussed or following conversation and currently be maintained on antipsychotics (clozapine not allowed).
If you meet the inclusion criteria you can refer yourself directly using the details below. Clinicians can also refer a patient to the study and can do so via the same route.
Email: research@southernhealth.nhs.uk
Call: 02380 475823