Helge Hasselmann

Helge Hasselmann
Helge is a psychologist turned clinical neuroscientist whose special interests lie with affective disorders and psychopharmacology. While not based on personal experience, he has a hunch that ketamine may be the next blockbuster drug.

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Antidepressants for depression: new BAP guidance

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Helge Hasselmann summarises the recently published evidence-based guidance on antidepressants for depression published by the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

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The antidepressant effects of ketamine are confirmed by a new systematic review and meta-analysis

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Helge Hasselmann summarises a new systematic review and meta-analysis, which confirms the antidepressant effects of ketamine.

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Poor oral health and severe mental illness: what are the links?

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Helge Hasselmann summarises a recent systematic review of poor oral health and severe mental illness (SMI), which found that people with SMI were 2.8 times more likely to have lost all their teeth, and had more missing, decayed or filled teeth.

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We don’t know how to improve medicine adherence, says new Cochrane review

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Helge Hasselmann reports on a new Cochrane systematic review of interventions for enhancing medication adherence, which finds insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions. The full health benefits of medicines will not be realised until better interventions and better studies are conducted in this area.

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Anti-inflammatory drugs for depression: new review points to benefits, but more research needed

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Helge Hasselmann highlights a recent systematic review of anti-inflammatory drugs for depression, which concludes that NSAIDs, in particular celecoxib, decreases depressive symptoms without increased risk of adverse effects. However, the meta-analysis has a number of draw-backs, which make the study findings far from convincing.

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Does depression make us lethargic, or does lack of exercise make us depressed?

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Helge Hasselmann highlights a new cohort study in JAMA Psychiatry, which finds a bidirectional relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms; strengthening the case for exercise as a recommended intervention for people with mild depression.

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Tricyclic antidepressants for ADHD in children and adolescents: Cochrane review finds no evidence to support prescribing

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Helge Hasselman summarises a Cochrane review of tricyclic antidepressants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, which finds low quality evidence and no justification for prescribing these drugs in this group of patients.

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Ketamine for depression: new review highlights the need for an RCT

Helge Hasselmann reviews a new systematic review of ketamine for depression, which highlights the need for an RCT to provide reliable data on the safety, tolerability and best route of administration.

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The adverse effects of psychiatric drugs and emergency department visits

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A new study finds that psychiatric medications are implicated in many adverse drug events treated in US emergency departments. Nearly 1 in 10 of all adverse drug event visits to emergency departments are due to psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, lithium salts, sedatives, anxiolytics and stimulants.

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Spoilt for choice? Four new Cochrane reviews on antipsychotics for schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia is a crippling condition characterised by psychotic experiences such as delusions and hallucinations. It can be hugely debilitating for the patient and their family and it can also be an enormous challenge for psychiatrists and other health and social care professionals who are responsible for providing care and support to the service user. Currently, [read the full story…]