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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Careful monitoring required for paroxetine (seroxat) and suicide risk in young adults with depression

seroxat

The debate about antidepressant use and suicide in young people rages on. A new meta-analysis of placebo-controlled paroxetine trials has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry by a research team at GlaxoSmithKline (the company who make the drug also known as Aropax, Paxil and Seroxat) in Pennsylvania. This kind of drug company conducted [read the full story…]

Elderly men are more likely to commit suicide than elderly women

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Researchers in Hong Kong have published a systematic review that explores suicidal behaviour in old age.  They found 22 gender-specific quantitative studies and revealed a range of risk factors for different socio-demographic groups. Unsurprisingly for a team of suicide researchers, they concluded that further exploration of gender-specific issues in suicide was needed. They also said: [read the full story…]

Relax, reduce stress and improve your wellbeing with new podcasts from the Mental Health Foundation

Listen to the music

The Mental Health Foundation have added a new podcast to their excellent collection.  It’s called progressive relaxation for better sleep and it supports the mental health awareness campaign they are running this week to promote the importance of sleep and relaxation. There are now 14 podcasts in the series, which have been produced over the [read the full story…]

Identifying and managing common mental health disorders. New NICE guideline focuses on primary care and the stepped care model.

nhs evidence eye

NICE have published a new guideline today with the usual collection of supporting documents.  Here’s the blurb from their website: This clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of adults who have common mental health disorders, with a particular focus on primary care. It brings together advice from existing guidelines and combines [read the full story…]

Should patients with coronary heart disease and depression be given antidepressants?

iStock_000016283608XSmall pills and stethoscope

Patients with coronary heart disease are susceptible to depression and this comorbidity makes cardiovascular outcomes worse. Using antidepressants to treat depression in patients with other health conditions is sometimes quite controversial. This meta-analysis looked at the health effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) versus placebo or no antidepressants in patients with coronary heart disease [read the full story…]

Medical patients and their carers suffer from depression if their activity is restricted

iStock_000000737181XSmall asian man in hospital

Depression has a habit of attaching itself to lots of health problems, not just for the patient, but also sometimes for carers and other family members. This systematic review and meta-analysis looks at the association between activity restriction and depression in medical patients and their caregivers. The review found a clear positive relationship between lack [read the full story…]

Mental Health Foundation campaign report calls for improved access to CBT for insomniacs

insomnia

This week is mental health awareness week and the Mental Health Foundation are marking the occasion with an awareness raising campaign about sleep. Their Sleep Matters report from January of this year calls for improved access to psychological therapies for people who suffer from insomnia.  It highlights that in the UK you are more likely [read the full story…]

Are you having an oxytocin moment?

Mother with newborn baby

The Aussies are at it again with this systematic review which examines the role of oxytocin in mother-infant relations, attachment, and bonding in humans. Oxytocin plays an important role in the reproductive life of mammals. The hormone facilitates nest building and pup retrieval in rats, acceptance of offspring in sheep, and the formation of adult [read the full story…]

Naltrexone no better than other treatments for relapse prevention in opioid addicts

naltrexone

There’s an updated Cochrane review which evaluates the effects of naltrexone maintenance treatment versus placebo or other treatments in preventing relapse in opioid addicts after detoxification. The Cochrane reviewers concluded: Oral naltrexone as maintenance treatment to prevent relapse in opioid addicts who have undergone detoxification Opioid dependence is considered to be a lifelong, chronic relapsing [read the full story…]

Abused and bullied children are more likely to develop psychosis

childabuse

Researchers at King’s College London have published an interesting paper in the American Journal of Psychiatry, which uses data from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study; a cohort study of children in England and Wales born in 1994 and 1995. The research question they posed was whether trauma during childhood such as maltreatment, bullying or [read the full story…]