When Medicine is Not Enough for Schizophrenia and Psychosis

Dawn I. Velligan, Ph.D., of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will look for new biomarkers that are associated with particularly severe cases of schizophrenia. These markers will be used to assess a new treatment, known as the MOtiVation and Engagement (MOVE) Program. The method builds on existing therapies with comprehensive, home-based, multi-modal approaches, and results have been promising so far. Dr. Velligan will focus on inflammatory markers as potential biomarkers. He will examine the relationship between the amount of inflammatory markers circulating in the blood of patients and the severity of their negative symptoms. Dr. Velligan will also assess the impact of MOVE on levels of these molecules. This work has the potential to uncover novel biomarkers associated with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which may offer a path to more targeted, improved treatments.