Page 18 - MemoriaSAM-Eng

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMES

Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Programme
Programme Description: About 10-15% of children and adolescents suffer a certain
Description
type of mental disorder and at least half of them experience a significant reduction in

their ability to function within a family, society and in school. The Mental Disorders in
Children and Adolescents Programme, created in 2010 and formed by five CIBERSAM

groups, studies mental disorders that start in childhood and adolescence and covers

the following lines of work:

• Risk factors, genetics, clinical characteristics, neuroimaging, treatment and pro-
gression of affective and psychotic disorders in children and adolescents.

• Risk factors, genetics, clinical characteristics, neuroimaging, treatment and pro-

gression of eating disorders.

• Genetic and neuroimaging characteristics in children and adolescents with ob-

sessive-compulsive disorders and other anxiety disorders in children and adoles-
cents.

•
Genetic characteristics, neuroimaging characteristics, treatment and progression
of autism spectrum disorders.

• Safety and efficacy of psychotropic drugs and other treatments for children and

adolescents.

• Immunological impairments in various psychiatric disorders in children and ado-

lescents.

• Development and validation of specific evaluation instruments in children and
adolescents and of neuroimaging technique.

• To study the risk and causal factors, manifestations and progression of the most 13
Objectives
0
serious/prevalent disorders occurring at these ages.
2
RT
• To study the efficacy and safety of psychotropic drugs and other therapeutic ap- O
EP
proaches in children and adolescents.
R
AL
• To develop or validate specific evaluation instruments and neuroimaging tech- U
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niques for disease diagnosis and follow-up.
A
/
• To participate in European projects with international groups to conduct studies M
requiring a large sample size consisting of children and adolescents and of achiev- SA
R
ing results applied to approving drug indications at these ages, to improving com- BE
CI
mon clinical guidelines or to implementing the most suitable care and prevention
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programmes.