Nicotine patches, Varenicline and combination NRT: as good/bad as each other?

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Paul Christiansen considers the findings of a recent RCT, which evaluates the effects of nicotine patches versus varenicline versus combination nicotine replacement therapy on smoking cessation at 26 weeks.

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Service user involvement in mental health care planning

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Alison Faulkner writes her debut Mental Elf blog about a new qualitative study, which explores how meaningful service user involvement can be integrated into the mental health care planning process.

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Cognitive therapies for depression in adults: let’s just stick to the facts

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Ioana Cristea reviews the NIHR-DC Highlight on cognitive therapies for depression, published online today, which summarises three NIHR-funded trials (REEACT, CoBalT and PREVENT) looking at cCBT, CBT and MBCT for depression in adults.

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Statins for dementia prevention: well-tolerated, but Cochrane highlight lack of evidence

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Rosalyn Nelson summarises a recently updated Cochrane systematic review of statins for dementia prevention, which finds no evidence to support their use.

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Parenting interventions for children with severe attachment problems

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Jasmin Wertz summarises a systematic review of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of parenting interventions for children with severe attachment problems.

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Commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs: do they work?

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John Baker summarises a review of commonly prescribed medication that covers seven psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, methylphenidate and cholinesterase inhibitors.

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Does integrated care work for substance use and schizophrenia?

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Ian Hamilton reviews a recent long-term US study of integrated care for people with a dual diagnosis of substance use and schizophrenia, which concludes that recovery is possible, but it takes time.

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Should we stigmatise smokers?

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Andrew Jones on a recent systematic review that brings together quantitative and qualitative research about the positive and negative impact of tobacco cessation campaigns and measures. The review concludes that stigmatising of smoking can lead to unintended consequences, such as increased stress, social isolation and smoking relapse.

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