Methodologies

1. Genetics: association and linkage techniques to determine if genetic variation is involved in disease risk.
2. Epigenetics: Bisulfite treatment and Methylight^tm will be used to determine if patterns of methylation , a means of epigenetic inheritance, are altered in candidate risk genes
3. Transcription and expression: A cell culture laboratory being built at the moment will be used to investigate how various environmental inputs modulate gene expression
4. Antibody analysis: Human serum will be tested using ELISA to determine if antibody levels for various antigens, such as gluten, differ in the disease state
5. Biological endophenotypes: GCMS, thermal desorption, HPLC, novel methods such as topical response to niacin (the Skin Patch Test) and chemicals in breath analysis, are used to detect altered metabolic profiles indicative of underlying pathologies in the studied illness

Projects

1. Immunogenomics of schizophrenia and diabetes: The Ness Foundation will be working closely with the new LifeScan Chair in Diabetes at UHI, Professor Ian Megson, on collaborative research. The research team working at the Ness Foundation, in particular PhD student Aditi Mathur will test candidate genes for diabetes in patients with schizophrenia. This genetic analysis will be followed up by a functional study using methylation and transcriptisome methods. Any results positive at both the genetic and functional levels will be expanded by screenings drugs targeting genes to interest with the intention to develop new treatments of both diabetes and schizophrenia.
2. Better understanding of the Niacin Skin Patch test: Through collaborative working with Dr David Horrobin, a patent was published in 1998 for the Niacin Skin Patch test.  This was the first time that a non-invasive test could be used at an early stage as a diagnostic screen for schizophrenia, although its use in a diagnostic setting still requires further optimisation. The Ness Foundation is working to improve accuracy and reliability of this test in diagnosis.
3. Immunogenomics of gluten allergies and mental health: Increased levels of gluten antibodies in blood have been seen in a large proportion of patients with schizophrenia. Gluten antibodies may react not only to gluten itself but also to some proteins produced in our body. Whether or not dietary gluten results in complex diseases is thought to depend on two major issues, the gut condition and the genetic make up, i.e. genetic variation. If the gut is in a good condition, it will not allow the passage of gluten. Even if gluten does enter the body due to a change of gut barrier permeability it will not necessarily cause a problem. An additional intention is to develop a more accurate means to detect gluten antibodies to help with diagnosis of gluten allergies. We have a PhD project staffed by Matilda Bradford aimed at better understanding the genetic, methylation or gene expression processes that link gluten and mental health.
4. The Ness Foundation Biobank: In complex disease studies a well characterised and large study population is essential. The Ness Foundation is expanding on the blood samples collected by Dr Wei through the creation of a Biobank suitable for use by researchers worldwide. Initially the plan is to collect both saliva and blood samples for the Biobank, with additional tissue or sample types included as the Bank expands. Plasma and DNA will be stored from each blood sample, potentially allowing a range of future research directions. The Ness Foundation is interested in including as many populations as possible.