Measuring treatment effects in dementia studies: towards a consistent approach

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It is now well accepted across the health and social care communities that the incidence of dementia is rising as people continue to live longer. The projected prevalence of dementia over the next ten to twenty years is causing widespread concern at all levels of policy making and care provision. There is a very real [read the full story…]

Computerised CBT is effective for depression in the short-term, but new meta-analysis suggests no long-term functional improvement

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Studies have demonstrated that CBT works at least as well as antidepressants at reducing depression, perhaps even better (DeRubeis et al., 1999). However, it’s difficult for people with depression to access CBT due to lengthy waiting lists. The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) scheme has had a major influence on waiting times for people [read the full story…]

Meta-analysis finds medium-sized deficit for IQ-change in schizophrenia patients

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When Kraepelin first described the symptoms of the disorder we now call schizophrenia, he drew particular attention towards the deterioration of cognitive function he observed in his patients and named their condition “dementia praecox”. To this day, cognitive deficits are still regarded as one of the key features of schizophrenia (and related diagnoses), and it [read the full story…]