Mary Butler explores a recent randomised controlled trial of probiotic formulations for patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
[read the full story...]Probiotics for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
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Antidepressants and suicide – it’s complicated…
Rina Dutta and Alina Cuhraja summarise a network meta-analysis on antidepressants, suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviours, which suggests that SSRIs may reduce suicidal ideation in the short-term, but this is not sustained even to week 8 of treatment.
[read the full story...]Hormonal coil dosage and depression risk
Dr Rachel Reid-McCann discusses the latest research on dosage of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) and the risk of depression. A well conducted study from Denmark “provides evidence of a dose-dependent association between LNG exposure and risk of subsequent depression across three dosages”.
[read the full story...]Home-based brain stimulation (tDCS) for depression: ready for widespread use?
Julian Mutz discusses the results of a new 10-week RCT assessing home-based brain stimulation for depression, which suggests that tDCS may be a safe, acceptable and efficacious treatment for moderate depression.
[read the full story...]Psychotropic medication during pregnancy: new umbrella review finds no convincing evidence of adverse health outcomes for the baby
Flo Martin summarises a recent umbrella review which finds that we still have limited knowledge about the safety of psychotropic drug use in pregnancy.
[read the full story...]Antidepressant discontinuation symptoms: what do the data really tell us?
Gemma Lewis and Glyn Lewis summarise a robust systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the incidence of symptoms when discontinuing or withdrawing from antidepressants. The data suggest that 8-14% of patients will experience antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, and for around 2% these symptoms will be severe.
[read the full story...]Jury remains out on antidepressant-induced mania, despite findings of Danish trial emulation
Michael Kalfas and Paul Leeks summarise a recent Danish study that assesses the risk of antidepressant-induced mania in patients with bipolar depression.
[read the full story...]Antidepressants: what is the Smallest Worthwhile Difference?
Linda Gask summarises findings from a cross-sectional online survey that investigated the Smallest Worthwhile Difference necessary for individuals with depression to consider taking antidepressants.
[read the full story...]Psilocybin for ‘treatment-resistant depression’: an island of hope in an ocean of uncertainty?
In this blog, UCL MSc students consider an RCT published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggests that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help reduce depression in people with severe and enduring illness, but side effects are common and more research is needed to look into longer term effects.
[read the full story...]Virtual reality therapy for psychosis: positive patient experiences and few side effects
Steven Parkes considers a randomised controlled trial exploring the satisfaction and side effects of gameChange, a virtual reality intervention targeting anxiety in every day situations for patients with psychosis.
[read the full story...]