Psilocybin for ‘treatment-resistant depression’: an island of hope in an ocean of uncertainty?

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In this blog, UCL MSc students consider an RCT published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggests that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help reduce depression in people with severe and enduring illness, but side effects are common and more research is needed to look into longer term effects.

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Virtual reality therapy for psychosis: positive patient experiences and few side effects

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Steven Parkes considers a randomised controlled trial exploring the satisfaction and side effects of gameChange, a virtual reality intervention targeting anxiety in every day situations for patients with psychosis.

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Digital mental health technologies: useful, usable, and safe?

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Cara Richardson and Stephanie Allan summarise a recent paper focusing on the growing field of digital psychiatry and the future of apps, social media, chatbots, and virtual reality.

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Nicotine replacement therapy – oral side effects

For inpatients with psychiatric symptoms of moderate severity, the study suggests those using nicotine inhalers were most successful overall in their quit attempts. There were no severe adverse reactions to the NRTs.

This review of the evidence on possible association between locally delivered nicotine replacement therapy(NRT) and oral side effects included 28 RCTs. Most of the RCTs were at high risk of bias mainly because of allocation concealment concerns. Reported oral side effects including oral soreness, gastric reflux or vomiting, and mouth or throat irritation.

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ADHD: which medications are most effective and safe?

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In his debut blog, Franco De Crescenzo summarises a narrative review that finds good evidence for the short-term pharmacological treatment of ADHD.

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The benefits and harms of antidepressants for youth depression and anxiety #ActiveIngredientsMH

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Mark Horowitz and Joanna Moncrieff consider a new #ActiveIngredientsMH review published today in The Lancet Psychiatry, which looks at the knowns and unknowns of antidepressant treatment in young people with depression and anxiety: efficacy, predictors, and mechanisms of action.

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Expertise from outside the Academy: tapering off antidepressants

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Mark Horowitz considers a recent article written by Adele Framer, Founder of SurvivingAntidepressants.org, which describes how best to help people who are tapering off antidepressants.

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Antipsychotics for schizophrenia: do they provide a longer, healthier life?

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Paul Heron from the Closing the Gap Network writes his debut blog about a 20‐year cohort study of physical morbidity and mortality in relationship to antipsychotic treatment in a huge group of people with schizophrenia in Finland.

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Antipsychotics and metabolic function in people with schizophrenia

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Peter Haddad and Sami Ouanes review a network meta-analysis of the impact of antipsychotic drugs on metabolic function in people with schizophrenia.

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Are antidepressants safe? A new umbrella review of observational studies suggests they are, but we need more accurate data

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Andrea Cipriani and Anneka Tomlinson scrutinise a brand new umbrella review of the associations between antidepressants and adverse health outcomes, which suggests that antidepressants are safe for most people who experience mental health difficulties.

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