Skip Navigation



Schizophrenia Bulletin Advance Access published online on September 15, 2005
Schizophrenia Bulletin, doi:10.1093/schbul/sbi059
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (Rapid PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
31/4/954    most recent
sbi059v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bromley, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bromley, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Published by Oxford University Press 2005.

Article

A Collaborative Approach to Targeted Treatment Development for Schizophrenia: A Qualitative Evaluation of the NIMH-MATRICS Project

Elizabeth Bromley 1*
1 Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program; Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System and the University of California, Los Angeles

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Elizabeth Bromley, E-mail: ebromley{at}ucla.edu


  Abstract

Introduction: In 2002, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) initiated a multistakeholder research process designed to stimulate the development and evaluation of medications targeting the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. The first phase, Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS), sought consensus on laboratory measures for cognition, clinical trial outcome measures, and drug registration requirements. MATRICS constitutes a unique drug development model because it targeted a specific endophenotype of schizophrenia and because it engaged academic, industry, and government stakeholders in a consensus-oriented process. This study offers a preliminary qualitative evaluation of the NIMH-MATRICS project. Method: Interview data are used to describe how MATRICS participants regard 3 aspects of the development of cognitive medications: the definition of the treatment target, stakeholders' role in the early development process, and anticipated dissemination complexities. Results: MATRICS participants describe the treatment target in highly varied ways and envision a wide range of public health benefits. MATRICS is perceived as inclusive, despite minimal representation from some end users. According to informants, clinical detection, documentation, and monitoring of cognition and functioning may prove problematic. More thoroughly than non-industry-employed informants, industry-employed MATRICS participants articulate strategies by which treatments can be integrated into clinical practice. Discussion: The MATRICS process did not produce a clinical concept of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, and significant challenges remain to be addressed regarding the rational clinical use of novel pharmaceuticals for cognition. Broader inclusion of end users in translational science projects may streamline implementation and facilitate improvements in real-world outcomes.

Keywords: schizophrenia; cognition; psychotropic drugs, therapeutic use; diffusion of innovation; qualitative research.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Schizophr BullHome page
W. S. Stone and L. J. Seidman
Toward a Model of Memory Enhancement in Schizophrenia: Glucose Administration and Hippocampal Function
Schizophr Bull, January 1, 2008; 34(1): 93 - 108.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Schizophr BullHome page
E. Bromley
Clinicians' Concepts of the Cognitive Deficits of Schizophrenia
Schizophr Bull, May 1, 2007; 33(3): 648 - 651.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Psychiatr. Serv.Home page
E. Bromley
Barriers to the Appropriate Clinical Use of Medications That Improve the Cognitive Deficits of Schizophrenia
Psychiatr Serv, April 1, 2007; 58(4): 475 - 481.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Research on Social Work PracticeHome page
J. S. Brekke, K. Ell, and L. A. Palinkas
Translational Science at the National Institute of Mental Health: Can Social Work Take Its Rightful Place?
Research on Social Work Practice, January 1, 2007; 17(1): 123 - 133.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.