Music therapy, when combined with standard treatment, is effective in helping people with depression, according to a small Finnish randomised controlled trial published in the August issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. The research team from the University of Jyväskylä, led by Professor Jaakko Erkkilä and Professor Christian Gold, recruited 79 people aged between [read the full story…]
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a life-threatening condition in critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The incidence of VAP in varies between 9% and 45% with mortality rates of up to 50% . It is accompanied by an increase both in length of stay in intensive care units ICU and healthcare. The aim of this trial [read the full story…]
Gingival overgrowth is an important adverse effect of phenytoin (PHT) therapy, occurring in about half of the patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral folic acid supplementation (0.5 mg/day) for the prevention of PHT-induced gingival overgrowth (PIGO) in children with epilepsy aged 6–15 years on PHT monotherapy for 6 months. Children aged [read the full story…]
Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is the most frequently used injection technique for achieving local anaesthesia for root canal treatment of mandibular teeth. However it is not always successful in endodontics with studies failure rates occurring between 44% and 81% of the time. The aim of this randomised trial was to determine the effect of [read the full story…]
There is a need for a rapid-acting, non-injection, acute treatment for agitation in people with schizophrenia. This randomised (double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group) controlled trial set out to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of inhaled loxapine for acute treatment of agitation in schizophrenia. The researchers recruited 344 adults with DSM-IV schizophrenia who were in good general health [read the full story…]
A research team from Umeå University in Sweden have published a randomised controlled trial that investigates the importance of pacing when delivering bibliotherapy for people with panic disorder, i.e. should patients be ‘prescribed’ a full book as therapy all at once, or should they be given separate chapters each week? The small trial randomised 28 [read the full story…]
Researchers from Manchester University have conducted one of the largest randomised controlled trials ever undertaken to investigate self-harm in adolescents. The trial published in the BMJ examined the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group therapy for self harm in young people by randomising 366 patients to: Manual based developmental group therapy programme specifically designed for adolescents [read the full story…]
Teenagers with depression sometimes do not respond to treatment with SSRI antidepressants and this inevitably leads to a higher cost of treatment. This randomised controlled trial (conducted by researchers from Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, Oregon) set out to evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness over 24 weeks of combined cognitive behavior therapy plus switch to a different antidepressant [read the full story…]
The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a non-invasive approach to dental caries management in private dental practice. The Caries Management System is a 10-step non-invasive strategy to arrest and remineralize early lesions. The main principle is that caries management must include consideration of the patient at risk, the [read the full story…]
Major depressive disorder is a prevalent and debilitating condition in elderly patients. It is accompanied by circadian rhythm disturbances associated with impaired functioning of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the biological clock of the brain. Circadian rhythm disturbances are common in the elderly. Suprachiasmatic nucleus stimulation using bright light treatment may, therefore, improve mood, sleep, and hormonal [read the full story…]
