Healthcare providers are always on the look out for ways to improve the detection and diagnosis of depression in primary care. It’s a prevalent illness amongst Europeans with 6.9% of people suffering from it in any 12-month period. We know that 50-70% of depressed patients consult their GP during an episode, so improving systems for [read the full story…]
The demand for psychological therapies far outstrips the supply and in this ongoing period of austerity we surely need to produce some cost-effective alternatives. One method that patients can attempt pretty much on their own is self-help provided through books, CDs, DVDs and websites. This new systematic review claims to be the first to bring [read the full story…]
All mental health professionals are well aware that depression and alcohol misuse frequently go hand in hand. One condition often complicates and affects the outcome of the other. NICE guidelines recommend treating the alcohol problems first and then after 3-4 weeks of abstinence focus on treating the comorbid mental illness if it’s still present. This [read the full story…]
A large number of systematic reviews and guidelines have been published in recent years to assist clinicians in prescribing the best antidepressants for treating depression. This new meta-analysis conducted by researchers from Austria and the US, sets out to compare the benefits and harms of second generation antidepressant drugs in the treatment of major depressive [read the full story…]
Suicide is rarely far from the headlines these days, but the last week has seen a number of high profile stories in the mainstream media. First there was the tragic death of the much loved footballer Gary Speed, which has been followed by a huge amount of press coverage. Then on Saturday The Sun newspaper [read the full story…]
Patients with first episode psychosis often relapse after initial remission, so it is perhaps surprising that treatment guidelines for the condition are generally based on poor quality evidence. Antipsychotic drugs are frequently discontinued, but clinicians don’t have ready access to information that shows how to determine which patients can be successfully tapered off of antipsychotic [read the full story…]
This systematic literature review and meta-analysis conducted by researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, will be of interest to all clinicians who treat paediatric bipolar disorder. Treatment decisions for young people have previously been based on extrapolation from adult trials, case reports, open label trials or expert opinion. This new study provides a [read the full story…]
This Canadian rapid response report will be of interest to anyone looking for a general introduction to the high level evidence relating to hospital admission and the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa. The authors found 1 meta-analysis, 2 systematic reviews and 3 guidelines, but no health technology assessments. They summarised their findings as follows: [read the full story…]
People with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) often fail to achieve remission (recovering fully from their disease) despite standard treatments. This systematic review examines the efficacy and tolerability of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) for generalised anxiety disorder as either: augmentation therapy, i.e. using it alongside other treatments monotherapy, i.e. using it as a stand-alone treatment The reviewers [read the full story…]
With a lifetime prevalence of about 12% and a 12-month prevalence of around 4%, social anxiety disorder is the most prevalent anxiety disorder and one of the most common psychiatric conditions. This systematic review conducted by researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, aimed to assess the effectiveness of different second [read the full story…]
