Marcus Munafo explores a recent study that uses a machine learning approach across two trials (STARD*D and CO-MED) to try and predict treatment outcomes (primarily focusing on the antidepressant citalopram) for depression.
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Sarah McDonald considers the findings of the CoBalT RCT long-term follow-up, which finds that CBT plus antidepressants are clinically and cost effective for treatment-resistant depression in primary care.
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André Tomlin presents his review of 2015, the year when the Mental Elf came of age. He highlights our top mental health blogs, showcases the #WeCATS and #ElfCampfire activities and explains how the new National Elf Service website can help you engage more with relevant and reliable research.
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Ian Cummins considers the findings of a recent longitudinal study that measures the impact that welfare reform and disability assessments have had on mental illness and rates of suicide.
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Ioana Cristea considers the possible causes responsible for the apparent narrowing of the drug-placebo gap, which over the last 30 years has seen estimates of depression symptom reduction from antidepressants fall from 70% to 30%.
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Leen Vereenooghe summarises a systematic review of the use of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to treat depression in people with learning disabilities.
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Dan-Mikael Ellingsen explores the neurochemistry of placebo effects in major depression, as he reviews a recent study of the association between placebo-activated neural systems and antidepressant responses.
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Alex Langford reflects on the findings of a recent study that looks at 185 meta-analyses of antidepressants. It finds that industry involvement in research can lead to biased studies that under-report negative aspects of antidepressants for depression.
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John Baker summarises the findings of a recent review of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. The study looks at the adverse effects on physical health of psychotropic drugs (antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilisers).
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Sarah McDonald considers the implications of a recent cohort study of SSRI use and violent crime, which suffered from the usual headline grabbing media coverage, so typical of research about young people, violence, crime, drugs and mental health.
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