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Meetings
During the year, the Anxiety Disorders Network organises meetings for its members (also at the annual ECNP Congress)

'Lay expert panel for research' in anxiety disorders
In February 2013, the Networks initiative approved the ADRN proposal to convene a group of representatives from patient-led organisations focused on anxiety disorders, as a “lay expert panel” to inform subsequent proposals for research funding. The Network intended this panel to guide the development of future research proposals and to facilitate dissemination of research findings to as wide an audience as possible. The aim was to discuss currently met and unmet needs in the management of anxiety disorders, addressing public health aspects, as well as the management of affected individuals in primary, secondary and tertiary health services.

POLT-Q questionnaire for onset of illness and treatment latency
In February 2012, the ECNP Networks initiative approved funding for a collaborative project for the development of a questionnaire relating to the duration of illness and latency of treatment, led by the Milan centre (Altamura, dell’Osso), with advice from researchers in Santander and Southampton. Dr. Carlotta Palazzo described the development of the ‘psychopathological onset and latency to treatment questionnaire” (POLT-Q) at the ADRN meeting in October 2012. At that time, over 250 patients, with a range of psychiatric diagnoses, had contributed to this project. The questionnaire had been translated into an English language version, and its item content and feasibility were being examined within the mood disorders service in Southampton. Further development of the POLT-Q includes its translation into other languages. An examination of the medical notes of a sub-sample of participants will be undertaken to examine how responses on the POLT-Q compare to information previously collected within medical notes.

Textbooks

• 'Anxiety disorders' published by Karger in 2013.
• 'Panic disorder and agoraphobia' published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

Research projects
EUSARNAD programme (Joint European and South African Research Network in Anxiety Disorders) funded by the European Commission, through the Marie Curie Actions (People) International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (PIRSES-GA-2010-269213) between October 2011 and September 2015. EUSARNAD built on the ADRN strengths and extended these by establishing firmer research collaboration with the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The research exchange shared knowledge and expertise among participating centres, in order to ensure a comprehensive translational research approach in anxiety disorders, relevant to the needs of developed and developing societies. This scheme: 1) allowed South African researchers to gain detailed first-hand experience of certain research methodologies in European centres; 2) helped European investigators to deepen understanding of the origin of anxiety disorders and problems in their management within an emerging country; and 3) thereby enhanced the relevance of translational research activity jointly conducted within Europe and South Africa to other developed and developing societies. Overall, 27 researchers took a secondment opportunity that initiated multidisciplinary and innovative collaborations with different research teams. If you would like to discover about some of the recent publications, click here.
You can find more info about the research on the EUSARNAD Colloquium report.

Recommended publications

Targeted Network Meetings

• 'Adult separation anxiety disorder: boundaries, causes and potential treatment' (22 October 2014, after the 27th ECNP Congress in Berlin, Germany).
• 'Anxiety disorders across the life span' (10 October 2018, after the 31st ECNP Congress in Barcelona, Spain).