Helge Hasselmann summarises a new systematic review and meta-analysis, which confirms the antidepressant effects of ketamine.
[read the full story...]Medication versus placebo for anorexia nervosa: antidepressants, antipsychotics and hormonal therapy
In her debut blog, Nicola Coop summarises a recent meta-analysis looking at the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics and hormonal therapy for people with anorexia nervosa.
[read the full story...]Antidepressant withdrawal syndromes: time to grasp the nettle?
Andrew Shepherd appraises and summarises a systematic review of antidepressant withdrawal symptoms after SSRI discontinuation, which leads him to reconsider his own clinical practice.
[read the full story...]Pharmacotherapies for reducing cannabis dependence
Kathryn Walsh reports on a recent Cochrane systematic review of pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence, which concludes that there is a lack of evidence for all medications reviewed.
[read the full story...]ECT for depression in the elderly
Andrew Shepherd reports on a post-hoc analysis of pre-existing trial data, which does little to convince him that ECT is a safe and effective treatment option for older people with severe depression.
[read the full story...]Childhood adversity linked to psychotropic drug use in later life
Andrew Jones summarises a large Finnish population-based cohort study, which finds that childhood adversities strongly predict the use of psychotropic drugs (such as antidepressants and antipsychotics) in adulthood.
[read the full story...]Helping people with depression return to work
Meg Fluharty reports on a new Cochrane review of interventions to improve return to work in depressed people. The review finds moderate quality evidence for a range of work-directed and clinical interventions that can help people with depression return to work.
[read the full story...]Folic acid for depression: results of the FolATED study
Susie Johnson reports on the FolATED RCT and economic evaluation of folic acid for depression. The study finds no evidence that folic acid is clinically effective or cost-effective in augmenting antidepressants and speculates instead that methylfolate may be a better candidate for future research.
[read the full story...]Medication for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder
Elena Marcus summarises a recent network meta-analysis published in The Lancet of the comparative efficacy and tolerability of medication for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder.
[read the full story...]Collaborative care for depression: psychological interventions, alone or in combination with medication, offer additional benefits
Ioana Cristea reviews a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of collaborative care for depression, looking to identify factors predicting improvements. The study finds that collaborative care successfully improves both patient outcomes and the process of care for depression.
[read the full story...]