Patients taking bisphosphonates are at increased risk of oral health complications (Bisphosphonate-related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw – BONJ). BONJ is defined as exposed, necrotic bone in the maxilla or mandible that has persisted for more than eight weeks in patients taking bisphosphonates and where there has been no history of radiation therapy to the jaw. Symptoms [read the full story…]
This rapid response report from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health set out to answer four questions: 1. What is the evidence on the safety of using benzodiazepines in older adults to manage disruptive behaviour or treat anxiety? 2. What is the effectiveness of benzodiazepines compared with that of antidepressants in older [read the full story…]
This care recommendation produced by Drew H. Barzman (Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center) sets out to answer the following question: Among children with ADHD and aggression, is the pharmacological treatment of ADHD, versus no pharmacological treatment of ADHD, effective in reducing aggressive behaviour? The authors searched Medline, PsychInfo, the National Guidelines [read the full story…]
The Department of Health has commissioned Skills for Care and Skills for Health to produce new guidance for health and social care professionals who work with people who have dementia. The publication provides guidance for leaders and managers, commissioners and training and education leads to develop a workforce that can create dementia friendly settings. It [read the full story…]
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is undertaking a review to decide whether the NICE clinical guidelines on bipolar disorder (CG38) and antenatal and postnatal mental health (CG45) should be updated. Within the review proposal consultation document, NICE has concluded that the guidelines should be considered for an update at this time. The [read the full story…]
This paper reports on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which was established to treat people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Interestingly, although Positive Practice Guidance was published in 2009, there are currently no geographical areas listed as having a special interest in specifically rolling out psychological therapies to people with [read the full story…]
The US National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association have published a new set of guidelines for diagnosing dementia and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. All of the papers from the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal are available online in full-text: Jack CR Jr, Albert MS, Knopman DS, McKhann GM, Sperling RA, Carrillo MC, Thies [read the full story…]
The BMJ have published an up to date guideline on the treatment of depression with drugs and physical interventions. It provides a good overview of the effectiveness and safety of antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy, exercise, lithium augmentation, pindolol augmentation, and St John’s wort. The authors found 88 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies and performed a [read the full story…]
NICE have published a new guideline today with the usual collection of supporting documents. Here’s the blurb from their website: This clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of adults who have common mental health disorders, with a particular focus on primary care. It brings together advice from existing guidelines and combines [read the full story…]
The review and re-appraisal of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease has resulted in a change in the guidance. Specifically: donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine are now recommended as options for managing mild as well as moderate Alzheimer’s disease, and memantine is now recommended as an option for managing moderate Alzheimer’s [read the full story…]
