Can virtual reality CBT help people with psychosis be more sociable?

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André Tomlin appraises a new RCT published today of virtual reality CBT versus waiting list control for paranoid ideation and social avoidance in people with psychosis.

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What causes emotional blunting in people taking antidepressants? Results from a survey

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Linda Gask looks at a recent survey of people with depression that explores their experiences of emotional blunting. The research finds that nearly half of depressed patients on antidepressants report significant emotional blunting, but it’s impossible to say whether this is caused by their medication or the depression itself.

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Phytotherapy as an adjunct to nonsurgical periodontal treatment?

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7 small RCTs that majority of cross-over design were included in this review of phytotherapy as an adjunct to scaling and root planing for chronic periodontitis. While the findings suggest a benefit these should be viewed with caution until results from larger high quality studies are available.

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Facing our inner voices: AVATAR therapy for auditory hallucinations in people with psychosis

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Joe Barnby summarises a recent RCT in The Lancet Psychiatry of AVATAR therapy for auditory verbal hallucinations in people with psychosis.

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Orthodontic pain: Is low level laser therapy effective?

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20 RCTs were included in this review of low level laser therapy (LLLT) for orthodontic pain. While the findings suggest a benefit a majority of the studies were at high risk of bias so the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Dementia and oral health

we need to ensure even more so that care staff feel capable and happy in doing what can be a stressful and demanding, as well as rewarding job, so that the residents with dementia are also well looked after and happy

This review of the oral health status of dementia patients included 36 observational studies and highlights the high levels of plaque and many soft tissue related oral health problems suffered by this group of patients.

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Prevention and early intervention for youth mental illness: how should we focus our limited resources? #MQScienceMeeting

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André Tomlin presents a summary of all the evidence we have highlighted over the last 3 years relating to prevention and early intervention for mental illness in young people.

This blog accompanies the #MQScienceMeeting coverage this week, which you can follow on Twitter.

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Youth online discussion forums: how do young people support each other and what do they talk about?

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Masters students from the ICH Child and Adolescent Mental Health course explore a recent qualitative study into how young people use the Kooth online discussion forum for emotional and mental health issues.

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Silver diamine fluoride for caries in primary teeth

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This review of the effectiveness of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) in arresting caries included 11 studies with 4 contributing to a meta-analysis showing it to be more effective than other active agents and placebo.

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Risk factors and peripheral biomarkers for schizophrenia spectrum disorders

This 'umbrella review' aimed to systematically appraise the meta-analyses of observational studies on risk factors and peripheral biomarkers for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Marcus Munafo considers the findings of a systematic review of meta-analyses of observational studies, which looks at risk factors and peripheral biomarkers for psychotic disorders on the schizophrenia spectrum.

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