Bariatric surgery can help improve depression, says new meta-analysis

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Emily Stapley reports on a new JAMA meta-analysis, which finds that mental illnesses such as depression and binge eating disorder are common among patients seeking and undergoing bariatric surgery.

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Antidepressants: benefits and harms in children and adults

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Samei Huda discusses the findings of a recent review into suicidality and aggression during antidepressant treatment. The systematic review and meta-analyses were based on clinical study reports and included some important adverse effects of antidepressants in children and young people.

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Which psychotherapies are best for college students with depression?

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Shirley Reynolds laments the lack of recent high quality evidence, as she reviews a recent meta-analysis of psychological treatment of depression in college students.

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Is the NICE guideline for bipolar disorder biased in favour of psychosocial interventions?

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Guy Goodwin reviews a new paper in the Lancet Psychiatry by Jauhar, McKenna and Laws, that calls into question the trustworthiness of the NICE bipolar disorder guidance.

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Cognitive tests for dementia: MMSE, Mini-Cog and ACE-R

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Akshay Nair explores the results of a systematic review of cognitive tests for dementia and mild cognitive impairment, which focuses on the MMSE, Mini-Cog, ACE-R and MoCA instruments. Along the way he explains how diagnostic tests work and how sensitivity and specificity are useful measures to get your head around.

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Group psychotherapies for schizophrenia

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Tracey Roberts appraises a systematic review of group psychotherapies for schizophrenia, which includes group CBT, music therapy, art therapy and social skills training.

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No sexual health history please, we’re British!

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Kirsten Lawson presents the results of a systematic review of observational cross-sectional studies, which looks at the worldwide prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C in people with severe mental illness.

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Lithium for schizophrenia: Cochrane find lack of evidence to support its use

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Raphael Underwood presents a new Cochrane review of lithium for schizophrenia, which assesses the use of lithium as a monotherapy and also in combination with antipsychotics.

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Psychotic-like experiences associated with self-harm, according to new systematic review, but further research is needed

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Katrina Witt critiques a recent systematic review of psychotic-like experiences and the risk of self-harm and suicide in the general population.

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