The Ness Foundation was a research charity based near

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Scotland. It was active from 1999 and was a constituent partner of the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

(UHI) until the foundation became insolvent and by 2008 and parts were then acquired by UHI.

History

The Highland Psychiatric Research Group had been founded in the 1980s with the involvement of Iain Glen, a consultant psychiatrist. Glen had an interest in cell membrane biochemistry, and theorised that there was a relationship to a group of mental health disorders. The Ness Foundation was registered as a charity in 1998 and the following year became an associate partner of the project that went on to become the

UHI Millenium Institute The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Islan ...

. Between 2001 and 2004 the Foundation was run by Dr. Brian M. Ross during which time the Foundation received support from the European Regional Development Fund and various other private and public partners. The ties between the University and the Ness Foundation grew closer with the Foundation contributing significantly to the total research output and income of UHI. It was involved with carrying out research into diagnosing conditions such as

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

autism spectrum disorder Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

developmental coordination disorder Developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental motor coordination disorder, developmental dyspraxia, or simply dyspraxia (from Ancient Greek ''praxis'' 'activity'), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impai ...

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

, depression and

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

. Its principal area of research was the relevance of

lipids Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins Vitamin A, A, Vitamin D, D, Vitamin E, E and Vitamin K, K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The fu ...

in these disorders but later this has been extended to include the role of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

. Through its wholly owned commercial subsidiary, Pan Diagnostics Limited, the foundation worked to develop a tool kit intended to enable early detection of people at a higher risk of serious mental illness. The kit consisting of a skin patch, breath test (measuring how a person's body breaks down

Omega-3 fatty acid Omega−3 fatty acids, also called omega−3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or ''n''−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their ...

) and if these were positive a genetic test was also run. The foundation was a constituent partner of UHI when it became insolvent and by 2008 parts had been absorbed into UHI.

References

External links

archive
of Ness Foundation Website
Kit to help diagnosis of mental illness
David Ross, ''The Herald'', May 2006 Health charities in Scotland Mental health organisations in the United Kingdom Research institutes in Scotland Bipolar disorder researchers 1980s establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Highland (council area) Organisations based in Inverness Psychiatric research institutes 2008 disestablishments in Scotland {{UK-med-org-stub