Dirty air, ageing brains: How midlife pollution exposure may accelerate cognitive decline

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Could years of commuting through city smog be leaving lasting marks on our brains? A major UK birth cohort study suggests that midlife exposure to nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants may lead to smaller hippocampal volumes and slower cognitive processing in later life, even after accounting for social and educational factors.

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Is brain imaging the future for bipolar disorder diagnosis in adolescents?

The study emphasises the potential of adopting a multimodal approach, incorporating imaging and behavioural data, to improve diagnosis of bipolar disorder in adolescence.

Emiliana Tonini summarises a recent Chinese study, which suggests that combining MRI scan and behavioural assessments data may increase the accuracy of diagnosing bipolar disorder in adolescents.

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Brain-body health please: new research supports integrated physical and mental health care

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Athina Aruldass finds that management of serious neuropsychiatric disorders should acknowledge the importance of poor physical health and target restoration of both brain and body function.

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Neuroimaging abnormalities in first-episode psychosis: clinically-relevant or not?

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Joe Pierre considers a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of neuroimaging abnormalities in first-episode psychosis and the clinical relevance for service users presenting with first-episode psychosis.

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MRI in first episode psychosis

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Dan Joyce publishes his debut blog on a recent paper in the British Journal of Psychiatry that considers the feasibility and clinical utility of magnetic resonance imaging in first-episode psychosis.

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Interventions to reduce imaging use in low-back pain

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In this blog, Nicky Butler considers a systematic review that investigated the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce the use of imaging and, consequently, improve both medical practice and my patients’ outcomes.

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