Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 乌鸦传媒 Foundation Trust (CPFT) 鈥 integrating physical and community healthcare with mental l health services 鈥 is involved in up to 100 different research projects at any one time.
CPFT delivers many of the 乌鸦传媒 services that are provided outside of hospitals; it cares for patients in community settings, as well as in hospital. 鈥淚ntegrating physical and mental health care in the community has many positive benefits for patients,鈥 explains Ben Underwood, CPFT乌鸦传媒 Director of Research and Development.
Being a top research-active 乌鸦传媒 trust, CPFT has a focus on translating scientific advances into practical care.
We offer the full range of research studies, from observational to early-stage drug trials.
As the biggest mental health service provider in Cambridgeshire, the trust works across more than 50 different locations and conducts ongoing research to build an evidence base for future treatments and healthcare delivery.聽 One such study, for example, is looking into the use of large numbers of anonymised electronic patient records to predict the most effective treatment for people with psychosis.
CPFT is also co-leading a national trial into the use of blood tests as a more accurate diagnosis of dementia 鈥 loss of thinking, remember and reasoning 鈥 than the memory tests and brain scans currently used.
Dementia is an umbrella term caused by more than 100 different conditions. Knowing which of these conditions is the underlying cause for an individual乌鸦传媒 symptoms would enable a more targeted approach to their treatment.
The Blood Biomarker Challenge 鈥 funded by the Alzheimer乌鸦传媒 Society, Alzheimer乌鸦传媒 Research UK, the postcode lottery, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research 鈥 is moving at pace to trial the blood tests in real patients with dementia attending 乌鸦传媒 clinics.
The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer乌鸦传媒 disease, accounts for up to 75% of cases. Using the Blood Biomarker Challenge, researchers hope to pinpoint the specific cause for an individual乌鸦传媒 dementia and so be able to target their treatment effectively, in a similar way to targeting specific genetic mutations within cancer treatment.
"It's about more accurate diagnosis. We are now bringing the idea of precision medicine into the world of dementia,鈥 says Ben stressing the need to ensure that research is translated into the real world of treatment for patients.
We are deliberately including people who are sometimes not included in research, for example those with other illnesses as well as dementia, the very elderly or those from ethnic minorities 鈥 to make sure that these tests will work well for everybody.
The lasting impact of such research can be put into context by comparing the number of deaths from COVID-19 during the peak year of 2020 鈥 about 69,000 鈥 with those caused by dementia every year: 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 almost exactly the same,鈥 says Ben. 鈥淪o why do we not put a similar amount of effort into treating people with dementia as we did for pandemic?鈥
Ben emphasises importance of having a highly skilled research workforce that can adapt and repurpose their skills when challenged.聽 CPFT clinicians and researchers, for example, were heavily involved in delivering the Oxford Coronavirus vaccine trial saving an estimated six and a half million lives worldwide in the first year of use.
This demonstrated the value of research and having medical practitioners 鈥 doctors, nurses, administrators and allied health professionals 鈥 who know what they鈥檙e doing.
If you would like to know more about research at CPFT, please visit the .
To volunteer for studies, contact the Windsor Research Unit by email or call 01223 219753.