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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Government proposals for treating drug addicts are ‘doomed to failure’ according to new report

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The Centre for Policy Studies have published a report, which concludes that despite being well-intentioned, plans to introduce Payment by Results (PbR) trials are unlikely to succeed. The report by leading drugs analyst Kathy Gyngell claims that: New Labour’s approach to drug addiction – prescribing addicts with methadone in an attempt to reduce crime and [read the full story…]

Invisible addicts: new report highlights drug and alcohol misuse among older people

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The NHS must wise up to the “growing problem” of drug and alcohol misuse among older people, according to a new report published today by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The report, written by the Older People’s Substance Misuse Working Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warns that not enough is being done to [read the full story…]

Psychotherapies can be an effective treatment for depression in people with chronic physical health problems

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This systematic review conducted by the UK National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health set out to review the efficacy of non-pharmacological treatment for depression in people with depression and chronic physical health problems. They found 35 RCTs that met their inclusion criteria and ended up conducting a meta-anlalysis of 22 studies using a random-effects model. The bulk [read the full story…]

Lithium is a better treatment for bipolar disorder than valproate

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Valproate is widely used as a mood stabiliser for people with bipolar disorder, despite the fact that there is very little evidence that shows the effectiveness of this treatment. This observational cohort study looked at over 4,000 bipolar patients in Denmark who were treated with lithium or valproate from 1995 to 2006. The results favoured [read the full story…]

Survey of teenage alcohol consumption: levels, patterns and influences

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The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct a survey which provides robust data on the levels and patterns of alcohol consumption and influences on drinking behaviour in 13-16 year olds.  The survey involved 5,700 teenagers from schools in England and data was statistically modelled using binary logistic regression to highlight the strongest influences [read the full story…]

Mixed amphetamine salts might be the best treatment to reduce ADHD symptoms in adults

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A new Cochrane review has found 7 randomised controlled trials that investigate the efficacy of amphetamine derivatives against placebo or an active intervention. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a childhood onset psychiatric disorder that can persist into adulthood in up to 50% of patients. From a clinical point of view, ADHD is characterized by hyperactivity, [read the full story…]

Early intervention for psychosis: updated Cochrane review remains inconclusive

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The Cochrane Scizophrenia Group have updated the systematic review that brings together all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) designed to prevent progression to psychosis in people showing prodromal symptoms, or to improve outcome for people with first-episode psychosis. The reviewers found 18 RCTs this time around, but (as is often the case with systematic reviews) the [read the full story…]

1 in 5 patients prescribed clozapine experience nocturnal enuresis (bed-wetting)

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This cohort study conducted by the Intensive Medicines Monitoring Programme (IMMP) in New Zealand, set out to determine more accurately the rates of nocturnal enuresis in patients on clozapine and other atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone). Prescription data for clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine were returned from pharmacies throughout New Zealand directly to the [read the full story…]

Barriers to good management of depression in primary care: the views of GPs and nurses

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A research team from the Institute of Psychiatry in London have conducted a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies of General Practitioners’ and Practice Nurses’ attitudes to managing depression in primary care. They found 7 qualitative and 10 quantitative studies, none of which looked at depressed people with co-morbid physical illness. Two contrasting understandings of depression were [read the full story…]

Royal College of Psychiatrists launches new website to help people return to work after mental illness

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The Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched a new online resource offering information and guidance about returning to work after a period of mental ill-health. The Work and Mental Health website is divided into four main parts, and is aimed at workers, carers, employers and clinicians. Each section signposts relevant information and provides useful links [read the full story…]