Psilocybin for ‘treatment-resistant depression’: an island of hope in an ocean of uncertainty?

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In this blog, UCL MSc students consider an RCT published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which suggests that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy may help reduce depression in people with severe and enduring illness, but side effects are common and more research is needed to look into longer term effects.

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Composite resin restorations – incremental or bulk fill?

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This review of the clinical effectiveness of bulk-fill versus incrementally layered conventional resin composites included 18 RCTs. Owing to the variety of composite materials and bonding systems used a narrative summary was presented with the findins suggesting no important differences between incremental and bulk-fill techniques.

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Orthodontic space closure after tooth extraction- early or delayed?

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This review of early versus delayed initiation of space closure after tooth extraction on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement included 11 RCTs. The findings suggest little difference between the two approaches but the included studies are small and none of the theam are at low risk of bias.

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Extraction vs non-extraction of premolars for orthodontic treatment

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This scoping review of the literature comparing orthodontic treatment undertaken with and without the extraction of premolar teeth included 399 articles. Most study reports were of low methodological quality, and further reviews are unlikely to provide new information. Researchers should focus on high quality prospective primary studies that include outcomes of imortance to patients.

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Suicide prevention for autistic people: the importance of belonging, mental health and movement

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Shania Lorenz summarises a recent network analysis on the complex pathways to suicide and suicidal thoughts among autistic people, which may include a lack of caring and supportive friends, feeling like an outsider, movement differences like restlessness, and mental health problems like anxiety.

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How do our genes affect our risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in childhood?

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A group of UCL masters students consider a JAMA Psychiatry study which looks at the associations between genetic risk for adult suicide attempt and suicidal behaviours in young children in the United States.

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Restorative treatments for caries lesions – ADA guideline

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In this blog we take a look at the latest clinical practice guideline from the American Dental Association on restorative treatments for primary and permanent teeth with moderate and advanced caries.

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Promising scalable brief psychological programme to improve refugee youth mental health

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Katie McQuillan reviews a recent randomised controlled trial which suggests that a brief community programme may help improve youth and caregiver psychological wellbeing in young Syrian refugees settled in Jordan.

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Root canal treatment outcomes and pulpal status

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This review comparing the effectiveness of root canal treatment outcomes in teeth with a vital pulp versus a necrotic pulp included 28 studies. No differences between vital and necrotic pulps were seen for tooth survival. No studies reported on tooth function, adverse effects or oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL).

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Photodynamic therapy in primary teeth root canal therapy?

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This review of the efficacy of adjunctive photodynamic therapy (PDT) on root canal treatment in primary teeth included 4 studies. The included studies were small and of short duration and lacked clinically relevant outcomes. Larger high quality well conducted studies with follow up periods of at least 12 months are needed to assess the role of PDT in primary teeth.

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