European Psychiatry - Volume 33 - March 2016

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S30 24th European Congress of Psychiatry / European Psychiatry 33S (2016) S18–S55
S37
Introducing PEEP: The psychiatry
early experience programme
H. Qureshi ∗, C. Holt , R. Mirvis , S. Cross , O. Hussain ,
H. Hutchings , E. Marshall , F. Turner ,
C. Wilson Jones (Director of Undergraduate Psychiatry)
1 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham IPTT
Ladywell Clinic, London, United Kingdom
2 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Southwark
Community Mental Health team Older Adults, London, United
Kingdom
3 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Greenwich Learning Disability Team,
London, United Kingdom
4 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Greenwich East ICMP, London, United
Kingdom
5 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Mental Health
of Older Adults, London, United Kingdom
6 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, National
Autism Unit, Beckenham, United Kingdom
7 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Wandsworth
Community Drug and Alcohol Team, London, United Kingdom
8 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Adult Mental Health, London, United
Kingdom
9 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United
Kingdom
∗ Corresponding author.
At Guy’s King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine, a unique initia-
tive is the Psychiatry Early Experience Programme (PEEP), which
allows students to shadow psychiatry trainees at work several
times a year. The students’ attitudes towards psychiatry and the
scheme are regularly assessed and initial results are already avail-
able.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
Epigenetic discoveries in psychiatric disorders
S38
Methylome modifications in
monozygotic twins and in depression
L. Fa˜nanás ∗, A. Córdova-Palomera
University of Barcelona, Animal Biology, Barcelona, Spain
∗ Corresponding author.
Epigenetics is the study of gene expression changes that are pro-
duced by heritable, though potentially reversible, modifications of
chromatin structure or DNAmethylation. DNAmethylation is inter-
esting in epidemiological studies, due to its accessibility and since
previous evidence indicates that large inter-individual differences
in methylation levels at some loci may correlate with phenotypic
plasticity in changing environments.
Prior genome-wide methylomic research on depression has sug-
gested that, together with differential DNA methylation changes,
affected co-twins of monozygotic twin pairs have increased DNA
methylation variability, probably in line with theories of epige-
netic stochasticity. However, the putative biological roots of this
variability remain largely unexplored.
This study evaluate whether DNA methylation differences within
MZ twin pairs were related to differences in their depressive status.
Genome-wide DNA methylation levels were measured in periph-
eral blood of 34 twins (17MZ pairs) using Illumina InfiniumHuman
Methylation450 Beadchip. Two analytical strategies were used
to identify differentially methylated probes (DMPs) and variably
methylated probes (VMPs).
The majority of the DMPs were located in genes previously related
to neuropsychiatric phenotypes, such as WDR26, a GWAS hit for
MDD whose expression levels have been found altered in blood of
depressed individuals.
VMPs were located in genes such as CACNA1C, IGF2 and the p38
MAP kinase MAPK11, showing enrichment for biological processes
such as glucocorticoid signaling.
The findings expand on previous research to indicate that both
differential and variable methylation may play a role in the
etiopathology of depression, and suggest specific genomic loci of
potential interest in the epigenetics of depression.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
S39
Longitudinal study of methylome
profiles in subjects with psychosis
and/or schizophrenia
O. Kebir∗, B. Chaumette , M.O. Krebs
Inserm U894, Centre of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Paris, France
∗ Corresponding author.
Background Schizophrenia is a complex disorder involving both
genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetic is a growing theory
to explain these interactions at a molecular level. It is well-
known that schizophrenia begins with prodromal symptoms and
patients undergoing subthreshold symptoms are named ultra-high
risk (UHR) subjects. Therapeutic and prognostic attitude remain
challenging for this population. According to themodel of the gene-
environment interactions, the psychotic transition in adolescence
could be related to epigenetic changes during the psychotic transi-
tion.
Methods We designed and performed the first longitudinal study
about whole-genome DNA methylation changes. Thirty-nine UHR
patients were recruited in specialized center C’JAAD - Centre
Hospitalier Ste Anne - Paris (France). During follow-up, 14 of
them became psychotic (converters) according to the validated
scale CAARMS. Initial and final methylation were investigated by
Infinium Human Methylation450 BeadChip for 450,000 CpG after
bisulfite conversion.
Results The psychotic transition was not associated with global
methylation changes. Linear models failed to identify CpG and
genes significantly associated with psychotic transition after Bon-
ferroni correction. Analyses of the top results provided a cluster,
which could classify perfectly converters and non-converters.
These genes of interest are over-represented in biological pathways
with relevance for psychotic physiopathology. Individual analyses
highlighted the biological heterogeneity of the psychotic transition.
Conclusion Improving physiopathological understanding of psy-
chotic transition is a current challenge to identify biomarkers and
to develop targeted preventive interventions available in clinical
practice for UHR subjects. The epigenetic processes and in particu-
lar DNA methylation could be interesting factors.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
S40
Epigenetic modifications in anorexia
nervosa patients and remitters
compared to healthy control women
N. Ramoz ∗, J. Clarke , P. Gorwood
1 Inserm U894, Centre de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Paris, France