Raising Hope - A NIMH Study

There's some good news for people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH), with additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-commonly known as the economic stimulus plan-will shortly conduct a research project aimed at halting the disability that occurs after a first episode of schizophrenia.

The Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) study will explore whether using early and aggressive treatment, targeted to the individual and integrating a variety of different therapeutic approaches, will reduce the symptoms and prevent the gradual deterioration of function that is a feature of chronic schizophrenia.

Although moderately effective treatments, such as antipsychotic medications and various psychosocial interventions exist, too often people with schizophrenia do not receive treatment until the disease is already well-established, with recurrent episodes of psychosis. Periods of unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration are common. Thus schizophrenia is a costly disease for individuals, their families and the community at large.

Thomas R. Insel, M.D. is the director of NIMH and champions the research project thus: "This new initiative will help us determine whether intervention that is started early, incorporates diverse treatment and rehabilitation approaches, and is sustained over time, can make it possible for more people with schizophrenia to return successfully to work and school." He adds this benefit, "Moreover, the interventions being tested will be designed from the outset to be readily adopted in real-world health care settings and quickly put into practice."

RAISE is a model example of how money from the Recovery Act can accelerate science related to public health problems and potentially benefit those citizens most in need. This study will test approaches that involve intervening immediately upon first diagnosis, systematically incorporating the range of options that are now available in a more piecemeal fashion to people with schizophrenia. These options include medications, psychosocial treatments, and rehabilitation, and teaching patients and families how to manage the disease.

The ultimate goal is that this coordinated approach tailored to each individual and sustained over time may make lasting difference in the acceptability of treatment and overall function.

The design of the interventions to be evaluated by RAISE will be implemented with participation from agencies and organizations that play a role in providing health care and other services to people with schizophrenia. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will be involved along with mental health care consumers and family members, private health care providers, additional scientific experts and state and local agencies.