Andre Tomlin

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André Tomlin is an Information Scientist with 20 years experience working in evidence-based healthcare. He's worked in the NHS, for Oxford University and since 2002 as Managing Director of Minervation Ltd, a consultancy company who do clever digital stuff for charities, universities and the public sector. Most recently André has been the driving force behind the Mental Elf and the National Elf Service; an innovative digital platform that helps professionals keep up to date with simple, clear and engaging summaries of evidence-based research. André is a Trustee at the Centre for Mental Health and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London Division of Psychiatry. He lives in Bristol, surrounded by dogs, elflings and lots of woodland!

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Quetiapine monotherapy helps people with generalised anxiety disorder, but side effects may limit its use

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Future research needs to shed light on psilocybin-assisted treatment among people with treatment-resistant depression and experiences and side effects.

People with generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) often fail to achieve remission (recovering fully from their disease) despite standard treatments. This systematic review examines the efficacy and tolerability of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) for generalised anxiety disorder as either: augmentation therapy, i.e. using it alongside other treatments monotherapy, i.e. using it as a stand-alone treatment The reviewers [read the full story…]

Simulated hallucinations increase empathy towards people with schizophrenia, but also increase the desire for social distance

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It’s well documented that people with severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, suffer from stigmatisation on a regular basis. Stigma can be caused by ignorance or a lack of knowledge about a disease. As the actress Shirley Maclaine once said: Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends. Researchers have developed a number [read the full story…]

New guidance on aripiprazole as a treatment for bipolar mania

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Aripiprazole (brand names Abilify and Aripiprex) is an atypical antipsychotic drug used to treat a number of mental health disorders including schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. This new guidance has been written by a group of Pan-European experts who have come together to review new clinical guidelines for the management of mania and the role of aripiprazole [read the full story…]

The reasons why veterans stop taking antidepressants

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Adherence to drug treatment is a constant challenge for mental health practitioners, so any research that explores why patients stop taking their medication is usually of interest. There are many published studies that look at the reasons why people decide to stop taking their antidepressants, and these range from finding it difficult to cope with [read the full story…]

NHS publishes hospital prescribing bulletin for 2010, which focuses on ADHD and psychoses

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This bulletin from the NHS Information Centre reports on the use of medicines in hospitals and puts their use into context by comparing it with their use in primary care and with medicines prescribed in hospitals but dispensed in the community. The bulletin explores the use of medicines used in the management of Attention Deficit [read the full story…]

Department of Health publish their response to the offender personality disorder consultation

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The Department of Health have published their proposed next steps to develop services for offenders with severe personality disorders in the NHS and Criminal Justice System. This follows a consultation that ran from Feb-May this year. In short, this work seeks to ensure that: the personality disordered offender population is a shared responsibility of the [read the full story…]

Support for the emotional transition to parenthood: new resource pack from the Department of Health

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‘Preparation for Birth and Beyond: a resource pack for leaders of community groups and activities’ aims to help the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector in planning or running groups for expectant and new parents. The pack is a practical tool that aims to improve outcomes for babies and parents through a refreshed approach [read the full story…]

New guidance on assisted suicide from the Royal College of Nursing

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Assisted suicide generates debate on a variety of levels – ethical, moral, religious, spiritual, political, cultural, psychological, professional and legal. It is an issue that affects the nursing workforce, both as individuals and as health professionals. Most people who are approaching the end of their lives in the UK do not ask a health professional [read the full story…]

The safety and risks of antidepressant treatment in older people: new large UK cohort study

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The aim of this study was to establish the relative safety and balance of risks for antidepressant treatment in older people. The cohort study included 60,746 patients aged 65 years and over diagnosed with depression. The study was based in 570 general practices in the UK supplying data to the QResearch database. The study objectives [read the full story…]

Sending letters can help people stop taking benzodiazepines, says new systematic review

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As people get older they tend to have more problems sleeping. Sometimes they are prescribed medication (hynoptic drugs) to help them sleep. Commonly used hynoptics are benzodiazepines and Z drugs (zopiclone, zolpidem, zaleplon). Researchers from Australia have just published a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (ref 1) that evaluates the effectiveness of simple ‘minimal [read the full story…]