Mark Edwards considers the findings of a new meta-analysis of case-control studies, which looks at the relationship between stressful life events, neglect and abuse with functional neurological disorder.
[read the full story...]
Marcus Munafò looks at the mounting evidence about smoking and risk of schizophrenia, including a new case-control study that provides clear evidence of a prospective association between cigarette smoking and a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia.
[read the full story...]
Eleanor Kennedy writes her debut blog on a recent case-control study of people in South London, which explores the links between first-episode psychosis and the use of high potency cannabis (skunk).
[read the full story...]
Laurence Palfreyman highlights a recent BMJ study, which finds an association between Alzheimer’s disease and benzodiazepine use.
[read the full story...]
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...]
Elena Marcus writes her debut blog on a total population study that finds some interesting associations between bipolar disorder and leadership potential, executive roles and political professions.
[read the full story...]
Andrew Shepherd summarises a matched control study that explores the effectiveness of day hospital Mentalization-Based Treatment for patients with severe Borderline Personality Disorder.
[read the full story...]
New research published today in the Lancet shows that up to one in four women prisoners in England and Wales self-harm every year. The largest study of self-harm in prisons also reports that female prisoners are four times more likely to self-harm than male inmates. Previous systematic reviews have investigated self-harm in prisons (Lohner, 2007 and Dixon-Gordon, [read the full story…]
Because of a more favourable side effects profile (not necessarily clinical superiority), second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are today the most commonly used drugs to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia (Jones et al., 2006). While rather frequent adverse reactions, including weight gain, diabetes or sedation, are largely recognised, recent studies point at increased risk of pneumonia [read the full story…]
While most people would likely associate tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) with more common adverse effects such as dry mouth, sedation and constipation, there is some evidence to suggest increased occurrence of bone fractures (Vestergaard, Rejnmark, & Mosekilde, 2006). However, the topic remains controversial and conflicting results about the association of TCAs and fracture risk abound (e.g. [read the full story…]
