Conduct problems in young children are common and costly, so there’s lots of interest in training programmes that can help parents and children cope better. This new review from the Cochrane Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems Group assesses the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting programmes for improving child conduct problems, parental [read the full story…]
Late-onset schizophrenia is relatively common. Onset after the age of 40 years is reported in 23% of patients hospitalised with schizophrenia. The condition is different from early-onset schizophrenia on a number of counts, including the response to antipsychotic drugs. This Cochrane review set out to assess the effects of antipsychotic drugs for elderly people with [read the full story…]
Cannabis (marijuana) is the most widely used illicit drug in the world and reports of driving under the influence of cannabis have risen in recent years. A research team from Dalhousie University in Canada conducted a systematic search and identified observational epidemiology studies of motor vehicle collisions with an appropriate control group. They included studies [read the full story…]
This new systematic review compares how effective first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are at preventing relapse in patients with schizophrenia. The authors carried out a meta-analysis of 23 randomised controlled trials that lasted for ≥6 months and compared FGAs with SGAs in schizophrenia. The outcomes they studied were: Study defined relapse Relapse at 3, [read the full story…]
We have learnt so much about mental illness in the last few decades and the science behind diagnosing, managing and supporting people with individual conditions has improved dramatically. Despite this improved knowledge, public attitudes to mental health issues remain varied and we still frequently hear horror stories about how people with mental health conditions are [read the full story…]
There is a growing pool of research that looks into the impact that exercise can have on depression, but this systematic review and meta-analysis claims to be the first summary of trials into the effects of exercise training on depressive symptoms among patients with a chronic illness. The research team from the University of Alabama [read the full story…]
Cross sectional studies (Mordal et al) tell us that around a third of patients admitted to acute psychiatric wards have illicit drugs detected in their system on admission. A third of patients also report a need for professional help in relation to their substance use. This new systematic review from researchers at York University (Mdege [read the full story…]
Campaigns in the media that encourage people not to take illicit drugs are now commonplace in the US, but a systematic review of the effectiveness of these interventions has not been conducted until now. A team of researchers from Vancouver in Canada have carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 randomised controlled trials [read the full story…]
Lithium is a medicine that has been used for over 50 years to treat depression and bipolar disorder. It comes in two forms that are used clinically: lithium carbonate and lithium citrate. A certain level of the drug is needed in the blood stream for it to be effective, but if the level rises too [read the full story…]
Healthcare providers are always on the look out for ways to improve the detection and diagnosis of depression in primary care. It’s a prevalent illness amongst Europeans with 6.9% of people suffering from it in any 12-month period. We know that 50-70% of depressed patients consult their GP during an episode, so improving systems for [read the full story…]
