This randomised controlled trial from Maastricht University in The Netherlands examines how well early intervention can help prevent long-term sickness absence and major depression among office workers who are at high risk of taking time off work with mild to severe depressive complaints. Researchers recruited 139 employees working in an office environment, all of whom were at [read the full story…]
It has been widely reported that antipsychotics have been frequently used to treat the behavioural and psychological symptoms that affect people with dementia and that this course of action has resulted in an estimated 1,800 excess strokes and 1,600 excess deaths in the UK alone. This double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled randomised trial looks at one of the [read the full story…]
The PEARLS Program is a team-based approach, involving counsellors, psychiatrists and medical providers, designed to reduce depressive symptoms and improve quality of life in adults with epilepsy. It was developed by a team at the University of Washington and has been studied through two randomised controlled trials, the second of which measures the long-term benefits of [read the full story…]
We know very little about how to increase the safety and wellbeing of mothers who experience intimate partner violence. A good deal of the research in this field focuses on treatments delivered by health professionals, but this cluster randomised trial from Melbourne Australia looked at the impact that non-professional mentor support can have in reducing [read the full story…]
There are a number of epidemiological studies that suggest a clear relationship between levels of vitamin D in the body and mental well being, but to date there has not been a large scale randomised controlled trial that proves that vitamin D supplementation (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels) can improve mental health. An Australian research team [read the full story…]
Depression is common in patients with dementia and antidepressants are widely prescribed for this population although the evidence remains limited. This randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and published in the Lancet, explored the safety and efficacy of two widely-used drugs (sertraline and mirtazapine) in patients with dementia and [read the full story…]
Older people who suffer from depression and executive dysfunction experience significant levels of disability and often don’t respond well to conventional drug treatments. This randomised controlled trial conducted by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York State, attempted to find out if problem-solving therapy is better than supportive therapy for reducing disability in older [read the full story…]
Many people with dementia experience pain, but often find it difficult to communicate this to their carers and the pain is therefore manifested as agitation instead. A randomised controlled trial published in the British Medical Journal looks at a systematic approach to the treatment of pain, to see if it can reduce agitation in people with [read the full story…]
There are increasing levels of interest in stepped care models to treat mental health problems in primary care. This randomised controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of a stepped care programme for treating depression and anxiety in 120 adults (aged 18-65 years with minor or major DSM-IV depressive and/or anxiety disorders) in general practice. Patients were [read the full story…]
Music therapy, when combined with standard treatment, is effective in helping people with depression, according to a small Finnish randomised controlled trial published in the August issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. The research team from the University of Jyväskylä, led by Professor Jaakko Erkkilä and Professor Christian Gold, recruited 79 people aged between [read the full story…]
