Matilda Bradford and Aditi Mathur, PhD students, and Matthew Law, post-doctoral researcher, have just returned to Ness from Montreux where they had  been selected to present posters on their research.

This year’s conference has included presentations on a wide range of topics affecting schizophrenia. Especially encouraging was the inclusion of workshops and symposia on weight-gain mechanisms of neuroleptic drugs, and the role of inflammation in schizophrenia, these topics being the very focus of Ness' own PhD studentships.
 The Winter Workshop provided a valuable forum for discussions around the biology of schizophrenia, especially contrasting the changes occurring in the brain and new methods for analysing this. Work was presented from groups around the world, highlighting the number of successful international collaborations now occurring in the field. A group led by Dr Busatto in Brazil gave an especially inspiring account of the first wide-scale study using MRI to track brain changes in patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis.

Almost an entire day's symposia was dedicated to presentations of research into drug treatments for schizophrenia. The talks included some aimed at assessing drug efficacy, others examining international approaches to their use, an exciting report of a novel drug targeting serotonin receptors, and also a particularly notable study into how and when patients might be able to come off their medication

 safely.

Within the conference there seemed to be a genuine appreciation for the full spectrum of issues affecting schizophrenia. The state of biological and genetic understanding was analysed at length, but there was also an appropriate emphasis placed on sociological and personal factors; the topic of the conference debate was titled ''Does Europe Need DSM V'' and drew animated discussions from all participants. We were also gratified to see a formal study assessing the role of family education in patient outcome. The results highlighted what members will no doubt know instinctively; that providing patients with compassionate help is important long after they leave hospital treatment rooms, and that the family should be informed and supported as much as possible.

It has been heartening to see the commitment, the high calibre of work, and also the open-mindedness displayed by those working in the treatment and research of schizophrenia. The Workshop has shown us that there is much to be done in unravelling the schizophrenia puzzle, but equally that there is great dedication and many advances leading towards that.