Photo of the Week: Women’s Mental Health Team (MAPrc)

March 2015 The Women's Mental Health team. L-R: Ms Lucinda Miller, Ms Vivian Monitto, Mr Gayan de Mel, Ms Marija Ugrcic, Dr Shainal Nathoo, Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, Ms Caitlin Bleeker, Ms Heather Gilbert, Dr Jasmin Grigg, Dr Roisin Worsley, Ms Emmy Gavrilidis.

Mental illness has many gender-specific characteristics that clinical practice has historically overlooked. The Women’s Mental Health Team at MAPrc is evaluating several promising new treatment approaches with specific focus on the hormonal (endocrine) system, for mental illnesses in women.

Their world first study looking at how oestrogen can help treat schizophrenia in previously treatment-resistant women has recently been published in Molecular Psychiatry.

There are a number of new treatment trials currently underway for schizophrenia, postmenopausal depression, treatment-resistant depression, and borderline personality disorder.

• Enquiries: Team Leader Emmy Gavrilidis on (03) 9076 6913 or emmy.gavrilidis@monash.edu
• MAPrc Women's Mental Health www.maprc.org.au/womens-mental-health
• Reference: Kulkarni J, Gavrilidis E, Wang W, Worsley R, Fitzgerald PB, Gurvich C, Van Rheenen T, Berk M, Burger H. Estradiol for treatment-resistant schizophrenia: a large-scale randomized-controlled trial in women of child-bearing age. Mol Psychiatry. 2015 Jun;20(6):695-702. doi: 10.1038/mp.2014.33. Epub 2014 Apr 15.