David Steele summarises a review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, which looks at the mediators and moderators of the placebo effect in psychiatry.
[read the full story...]Placebo effect in psychiatry: what do we really know?
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Tricyclic antidepressants for ADHD in children and adolescents: Cochrane review finds no evidence to support prescribing
Helge Hasselman summarises a Cochrane review of tricyclic antidepressants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, which finds low quality evidence and no justification for prescribing these drugs in this group of patients.
[read the full story...]Are autism and ADHD associated with antidepressants or maternal depression? The debate continues…
Amy Green summarises a retrospective observational study that finds prenatal antidepressant exposure is associated with risk for ADHD, but not autistic spectrum disorders. She considers this complex topic and works out what it all means for pregnant women with depression.
[read the full story...]Meta-review presents the risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders
This recent and well-conducted meta-review concludes that the impact on mortality and suicide of mental disorders is substantial, and probably poorly appreciated as a public health problem. Raphael Underwood’s blog summarises the data for all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders.
[read the full story...]Children of older fathers have an increased risk of psychiatric and academic problems, says new cohort study
Research suggests that the risk of developing psychiatric problems (such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability or schizophrenia) may be linked to increased paternal age at the time of conception. This seems quite plausible given that advancing age in men is associated with increased genetic mutations in sperm. However, studies so far have generally not [read the full story…]
Continued low rate of use of appropriate adults for detainees with learning disabilities and ADHD cause for concern
Background Last week we posted about the recent multi agency inspection of responses to people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system which suggested that information was poorly shared and that significant improvements were possible. The researchers in this study worked in a large London metropolitan police station and were interested in looking at [read the full story…]
ADHD and the importance of healthy sleep
Good sleep is a crucial part of our physical and mental well-being. We typically spend about a third of our lives asleep but when we miss out on sleep, we can feel fatigued and struggle to concentrate. Sleep problems are generally quite common and have been reported as one of the most common health conditions [read the full story…]
Atomoxetine for adult ADHD: the harms outweigh the benefits, according to new systematic review
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental neurological condition affecting functioning in a number of domains, but in particular, the ability to focus and concentrate, and regulate activity levels. This is a common disorder with 2.5-4.0% of adults meeting diagnostic criteria for ADHD (Fayyad et al, 2007), and this condition has significant impact on a persons [read the full story…]
Estimating heritability in 5 psychiatric disorders: a 21st Century family study
It has long been established that psychiatric disorders have a genetic component. In the early days of genetic research, twin and family studies were used to estimate heritability (the proportion of variance explained by genetic factors). The Psychiatric Genetics Consortium has recently published a paper in Nature Genetics to assess the heritability and co-inheritability (relationship between [read the full story…]
Cutting across diagnostic categories: Does stimulant medication improve ADHD symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder?
Until fairly recently, it was thought that autism spectrum disorder (ASD; previously known as PDD or pervasive developmental disorder) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were two entirely separate childhood-onset conditions and that they could not both be diagnosed in one individual. Numerous studies in the last decade have shown that, in reality, a number of [read the full story…]