The first center for fundamental biomedical research in the Baltic States was opened in Vilnius – MadeinVilnius.lt

A Scientific Research and Innovation Center has been opened at the Republican Vilnius Psychiatric Hospital (RVPL), where chrono-epigenetic research will be conducted. This type of project in a psychiatric hospital is the first in the Baltic States. It is financed by the funds of the Future Biomedical Foundation.

“The fundamental research laboratory in the psychiatric clinic is a unique phenomenon. It is one of the few centers of its kind in Eastern Europe. Chrono-epigenetic research has great scientific and applied potential and can reveal new principles of diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses”, says Professor Arūnas Germanavičius, director of RVPL.

It will help answer the questions of today’s psychiatry

The research center, established in cooperation with the Life Sciences Center of Vilnius University (VU), has four single-bed wards and a laboratory where blood samples will be tested.

“Here we will carry out 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 doctors’ recommendations, still experience episodes of mental disorder, why certain drugs help some patients, but not others,” says Professor A. Germanavičius.

According to the director of RVPL, patients will participate in the research on a voluntary basis – they will be able to sign up immediately after treatment in the hospital, and in some cases they will also be invited to participate in specific research on an outpatient basis.

Will study molecular changes over time

“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 a ballet pirouette, the movement of a steam locomotive, the trajectories of the sun or the moon, it is often very difficult to understand the essence of a disease from a snapshot.

By adding “chronos” (Greek – “time”), a whole series of molecular “pictures” is taken – then we can judge the disease from their dynamics and the change of various parameters in the time dimension,” says University of Toronto professor Artūras Petronis, who also heads the chrono-epigenetic research program VU Life Sciences Center.

He also emphasizes that these studies are not limited to the knowledge of 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 mechanisms of the disease, which increase the risk of developing not only mental disorders, but also cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s dementia”, comments Professor A. Petronis.

Will contribute to the development of personalized medicine

According to Professor Arvydas Janulaitis, the founder of the Future Biomedicine Foundation, the pioneer of modern biotechnology in Lithuania, as medicine develops more and more rapidly, the understanding that each person is unique in terms of their genetic, epigenetic and other biological characteristics at the molecular level deepens.

“All these factors determine the causes of a particular person’s illnesses and the development of diseases. Therefore, when searching for the most effective treatment methods, it is necessary to take into account the individuality of each patient and follow the principles of personalized medicine. The chrono-epigenetic research conducted in the new center will also accelerate the progress of personalized medicine in the recognition, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders”, comments Professor A. Janulaitis.

The goal of the Future Biomedicine Foundation is to contribute to the development of personalized medicine research and their contribution to practical medicine in Lithuania. According to the definition given by the foundation, personalized medicine is a model of individualized treatment, which, based on the knowledge of the molecular profile of the patient’s disease, is realized by selecting the most appropriate drugs and their doses to overcome the disease. The fund has planned to allocate at least 15 million to finance research into personalized medicine in Lithuania. euros.