Research Roundup – June/July 2025 | Our blog

Cochrane systematic review into neurosteroid drugs as treatments for postnatal depression  

Research news from the Trust  

PATHWAYS research study into NHS Gender Services launches (31 July 2025)  

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust,  together with university partners at King’s IoPPN , will participate in the largest long-term study into the needs of young people accessing gender services , to better inform and evidence the care and support provided by the NHS. The longitudinal study, which has received regulatory and ethical approval, will begin recruiting up to 3,000 young people that will look at the care and treatment provided through NHS gender services over the next six years, and build a detailed and holistic picture of clinical outcomes .      

£1.9 million to scale up DISCOVER workshops in NHS to improve young people's wellbeing (1 July 2025)  

Researchers at King's IoPPN and University College London have been awarded £1.9 million from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR ) to improve the mental wellbeing of 16–18-year-olds with school-based workshops. The new NIHR funding will allow researchers to explore the best ways to implement the workshops in the NHS. DISCOVER was developed by Dr Irene Sclare , Consultant Clinical Psychologist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Dr June Brown, King’s IoPPN – read more about DISCOVER .

New paper showcases the work of the CAMHS Digital Lab as part of transforming child mental health care systems (27 June 2025)  

The CAMHS Digital Lab are pioneering a novel service model for embedding research and innovation into CAMHS . The Lab aims to streamline clinical processes, provide population insights, and offer novel ways of understanding young people's needs, therefore enabling CAMHS to be more efficient and effective while reducing costs. The CAMHS Digital Lab is a collaborative initiative between South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust CAMHS, NIHR Maudsley BRC, Helen Hamlyn Centre of Design at Royal College of Art (HHCD), and King's IoPPN .  

Lack of evidence supporting the use of newly developed neurosteroid drugs as treatments for postnatal depression (27 June 2025)  

A new Cochrane systematic review , led by researchers from King’s College London and South London and Maudsley, identified six USA based randomised controlled trials that examined the use of two neurosteroid GABA - A positive allosteric modulators for the treatment of postnatal depression in 674 women. The review found that they may make little or no difference to postnatal depression symptoms compared to placebo.  

Dr Hind Khalifeh, perinatal psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley and the review’s senior author said, "For women with postnatal depression, early and effective treatment is necessary. Neurosteroid GABA - A positive allosteric modulators have been developed to specifically target depression in the postnatal period, and to offer more rapid treatment. It is encouraging that one of these agents, Zuranolone , is better than placebo. We await trials comparing it to traditional antidepressants to understand its place in clinical practice."  

Weight loss behaviours missing in tools to diagnose eating disorders (18 June 2025)  

Researchers have identified a range of weight loss behaviours which are not included in current assessment criteria for eating disorders . These gaps may lead to missed or incorrect eating disorder diagnoses and treatment plans. Researchers analysed data from the Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI UK) and Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) studies. EDGI UK and GLAD are led by researchers at King's IoPPN and NIHR Maudsley BRC as part of the NIHR BioResource .  

Cannabis withdrawal associated with increased risk of transfer to psychiatric intensive care following admission to hospital (18 June 2025)  

Researchers at King’s IoPPN and South London and Maudsley have found that cannabis users with acute mental illness admitted to psychiatric hospitals are at increased risk of being transferred to a psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) as a result of cannabis withdrawal syndrome (CWS).  

Over 3,000 people join ADHD and Autism Research at the Trust and King’s  

The National Adult ADHD and Autism Services at South London and Maudsley in collaboration with King's IoPPN are actively involved in numerous research projects from data collected in a clinical database. To date, there are now over 3000 individuals across the autism and ADHD pathways who have given their consent to be a part of research. The research teams are incredibly grateful to the service users for their continued involvement and invaluable contributions to these studies.