Ness Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Ness Foundation, established by Dr (now Professor) Iain Glen, a consultant psychiatrist, is a research charity based near Inverness
, Scotland
. It was founded in the 1980s and previously known as The Highland Psychiatric Research Foundation, carrying out research into diagnosing conditions such as schizophrenia
, bipolar disorder
, autism spectrum disorder, dyspraxia
, dyslexia
, depression
and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
. Its principal area of research has been the relevance of lipids in these disorders but recently this has been extended to include the role of genetics
.
In 1999 the Ness Foundation became an associate partner in the UHI Millennium Institute
.
Through its wholly owned commercial subsidiary Pan Diagnostics Limited the Ness Foundation is working on a diagnostic tool kit consisting of a skin patch, breath test ( which measures how well your body breaks down Omega-3 fatty acid
) and a genetic test to enable early detection of serious mental illness.
As of 2008 the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
records the Ness Foundation as being in liquidation.
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was founded in the 1980s and previously known as The Highland Psychiatric Research Foundation, carrying out research into diagnosing conditions such as schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, autism spectrum disorder, dyspraxia
Dyspraxia
Developmental dyspraxia is a motor learning difficulty that can affect planning of movements and co-ordination as a result of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body...
, dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
. Its principal area of research has been the relevance of lipids in these disorders but recently this has been extended to include the role of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
.
In 1999 the Ness Foundation became an associate partner in the UHI Millennium Institute
UHI Millennium Institute
The University of the Highlands and Islands is a federation of 13 colleges and research institutions in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland delivering higher education. Its executive office is in Inverness.-History:...
.
Through its wholly owned commercial subsidiary Pan Diagnostics Limited the Ness Foundation is working on a diagnostic tool kit consisting of a skin patch, breath test ( which measures how well your body breaks down Omega-3 fatty acid
Omega-3 fatty acid
N−3 fatty acids are essential unsaturated fatty acids with a double bond starting after the third carbon atom from the end of the carbon chain....
) and a genetic test to enable early detection of serious mental illness.
As of 2008 the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government, with responsibility for the regulation of charities in Scotland...
records the Ness Foundation as being in liquidation.
External links
- Ness Foundation Website
- Kit to help diagnosis of mental illness, David Ross, The Herald, May 2006
- Making progress through a sticking point, article on the work of Iain Glen and the Ness Foundation, Jenny McBain, The Herald, June 2006