John Baker reviews a recent participant-level meta-analysis of six placebo-controlled studies, which looks at the initial severity of schizophrenia and the efficacy of antipsychotics including Olanzapine, Risperidone and Amisulpride.
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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).
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Consultant Psychiatrist Samei Huda provides a personal critique of the new NICE quality standard on psychosis and schizophrenia in adults. Read his thoughts and join the discussion!
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Vishal Bhavsar summarises a recent cross-sectional study of violent and non-violent crime against adults with severe mental illness, which finds that service users were five times more likely to be victims of assault, and three times more likely to be victims of household acquisitive crime.
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Rebecca Syed appraises and summarises an updated Cochrane review of compulsory community treatment and involuntary outpatient treatment for people with severe mental disorders. The review finds just 3 trials, which show that CCT results in no significant difference in service use, social functioning or quality of life.
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Andrés Fonseca appraises a longitudinal study in people at high risk of psychosis, which looks at misattributing speech and jumping to conclusions.
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Elly O’Brien reports on a recent RCT of a staff training intervention for inpatients in mental health rehabilitation, which is designed to increase patients’ engagement in activities.
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Joe Judge reviews a recent meta-analysis of placebos in antipsychotic trials, which finds that the placebo response has increased significantly in the last 50 years.
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Josephine Neale reports on a recent cohort study that finds less than half of UK prescriptions for antipsychotics are issued for main licensed conditions (e.g. psychosis or bipolar disorder). The research provides a reminder about the dangers of prescribing antipsychotics to people with dementia.
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Nikki Newhouse reports on a recent systematic review of online social networking and psychosis. Her blog explores the potential benefits and harms of online social networking for people with psychosis, and reflects on some of the challenges facing researchers working in the field.
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