A biomedical research center was opened at the psychiatric hospital in Vilnius

As announced by the Future Biomedical Foundation, this type of project in a psychiatric hospital is the first in the Baltic States.

A fundamental research laboratory in a psychiatric clinic is a unique requirement. It is one of the few centers of its kind in Eastern Europe. Chronoepigenetic research has great scientific and applied potential and can reveal new principles of diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, says Prof. Dr. Arnas Germanaviius, director of RVPL.

In the research center, established in cooperation with the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU), four single wards and a laboratory where blood samples will be tested have been created.

According to the director of RVPL, the patients will participate in the research as volunteers: they will be able to enroll immediately after the treatment in the hospital, and in some cases outpatients will also be invited to participate in specific research.

Here we will conduct research that can be extremely valuable in order to better understand the development and treatment of mental disorders. We hope that the research will help explain why relapses occur, why some patients, despite consistently following the doctor’s recommendations, still experience episodes of mental disorder, why certain drugs help some patients and not others, says Prof. A. Germanaviius.

Looking at the bigger picture

Professor Artras Petronis of the University of Toronto, who heads the chronoepigenetics research program at the VU Center for Life Sciences, says that research is not limited to one specific disease.

Although we will study mental disorders at the center, our long-term goals are much broader. We are also looking for the general mechanism of the disease, which increases the risk of developing not only mental disorders, but also diabetes, Alzheimer’s dementia, comments Prof. A. Petronis.

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He says that in the concept of chronoepigenetics, odis, chronos, the Greek time, is very important.

Traditionally, biomedical research is conducted by comparing patients with control individuals. Each of them is studied only once, although molecular and cellular processes are in constant progress, constant change. Just as one photograph does not tell much about the movement of steam, it is often very difficult to understand the essence of a disease from a snapshot. So, in these studies, a whole series of molecular photos is taken, then we can understand the dynamics of the disease and the most important parameters in the time dimension of change, says prof. A. Petronis.

Will accelerate the development of personalized medicine

This research center was financed by the Future Biomedical Foundation, 1 million will be available. The EUR value of the support is agreed with the VU fund.

The contract covers the establishment of the new Center for Scientific Research and Innovation, the implementation of research and the financing of scientific activities carried out in the framework of the chronoepigenomics program at the VU Life Science Center.

According to prof. Arvydas Janulaiis, a member of the Future Biomedicine Foundation, has a deeper understanding that medicine is developing more and more rapidly, that each person is unique with its biological properties at the molecular level. This is precisely what the relatively newly developing field of personalized medicine is for.

All these factors determine the causes and development of a particular person’s illness. Therefore, in order to find the most effective treatment, it is necessary to take into account the individuality of each patient and follow the principles of personalized medicine. The research conducted in the new center will speed up the progress of such medicine in the confusion, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, says prof. A. Janulaitis.

The Future Biomedicine Fund was created in 2022, its goal is to contribute to the development of personalized medicine research and its contribution to practical medicine in Lithuania. Therefore, the fund plans to allocate 15 mln. Eur for personalized medicine research in Lithuania. i amount is provided for the teenage years.