Drug treatments are commonly used to treat children and young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methylphenidate and amphetamine are two of the most popular, but these are not effective for all patients and sometimes cause problematic side effects. Children and adolescents with ADHD have been shown to have significantly lower plasma and blood [read the full story…]
Weight gain is one of the side effects that people who take antipsychotic drugs complain of the most. Obesity is common in this population and this can often lead to cardiovascular problems and a far shorter life expectancy than the rest of the population. As a result, there is a great deal of interest in [read the full story…]
Following the media coverage of the NHS statistics published last week that reported a large rise in antidepressant prescribing, Martin Brunet (a GP from Surrey and author of the excellent Binscombe Doctor Blog) has written an opinion piece that explores the positive and negative aspects of this complex story: “Are GPs prescribing antidepressants too readily?” [read the full story…]
There are a range of treatment options for people with bipolar disorder who are experiencing a manic episode. An important part of this treatment is to reduce the symptoms of mania and provide the individual with some level of normality. I blogged this time last year about a meta-analysis in the Lancet that showed that [read the full story…]
The largest annual rise in prescriptions was seen in antidepressants according to figures published this week by the NHS Information Centre. 46.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants were dispensed in 2011, a rise of 3.9 million on 2010. This equates to a rise of 9.1% in the 12 month period, which is similar to that seen [read the full story…]
There is an increasing body of evidence showing that depression and anxiety are linked with other health conditions like cancer and cardiovascular disease. I’ve blogged about the link between depression and stroke, and there are a number of other studies that show an association between psychological distress (the symptoms of depression and anxiety) and mortality, [read the full story…]
Back in February, I blogged about a cohort study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which concluded that ADHD drugs are not linked with an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events. The last few years has seen heated debate about the use of central nervous stimulants in children and young people. The lack [read the full story…]
Antidepressants and psychotherapies are the mainstay for treating depression, but another option is the benzodiazepine drug alprazolam, which is recommended for treating depression when anxiety is also involved. Some doctors prescribe a short course of benzodiazepines to help depressed and anxious patients, but this is not supported by NICE guidance. High-potency tranquillisers like alprazolam are [read the full story…]
The NHS Information Centre have published their annual survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15). 6,519 pupils in 219 schools completed questionnaires in the autumn term of 2011. The survey report presents information on the percentage of pupils who have ever smoked, tried alcohol or [read the full story…]
iPhone users can now get daily Mental Elf updates on their phone. Visit the Apple Store now to download the app. It’s available at a special introductory price of £0.69 for the next few weeks, so get it now! iPhone app features Up to the minute alerts of the latest Mental Elf blogs, so you get to [read the full story…]
