Guy Goodwin reviews a new paper in the Lancet Psychiatry by Jauhar, McKenna and Laws, that calls into question the trustworthiness of the NICE bipolar disorder guidance.
[read the full story...]Lamotrigine, quetiapine and folic acid for bipolar depression: the CEQUEL trial
Michael Ostacher considers the findings of the CEQUEL trial, which asks: Does lamotrigine treat bipolar depression when added to quetiapine, and does adding folic acid help any more?
[read the full story...]Does QOF reduce hospitalisation for people with severe mental illness?
Andres Fonseca appraises a regression analysis looking at the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) and the impact it has on psychiatric admissions in people with severe mental illness.
[read the full story...]Smoking and chronic mental illness: what’s the best way to quit or cut down?
Meg Fluharty considers the findings of a BMJ State of the Art review, which looks at the evidence for smoking cessation in people with chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia, unipolar depression, bipolar depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD.
[read the full story...]Improving diagnosis of bipolar disorder: can blood-based diagnostic panels help?
Can blood-based diagnostic panels help us reduce the misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment often experienced by people with bipolar disorder? Murtada Alsaif reviews a recent retrospective study that has some encouraging findings for biologically identifying the disease.
[read the full story...]Research priorities for bipolar disorder #bipolarconf
Michael Ostacher provides some context and ideas for the JoinMQ conference on research priorities for bipolar disorder, which is taking place in London on 9-10 November 2015.
[read the full story...]Early intervention in psychosis: how long is long enough?
Rachel Brand looks at a recent RCT which investigates the optimal duration of an early intervention in psychosis programme for young people in Hong Kong.
[read the full story...]Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in people with bipolar disorder
Alan Underwood appraises a recent meta-analysis that finds anxiety disorders are three times more common in people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
[read the full story...]What impact are psychotropic drugs having on our physical health?
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).
[read the full story...]Can fMRI measuring striatal connectivity help predict response to antipsychotics?
Samei Huda steps into George Clooney’s shoes to discuss baseline striatal functional connectivity as a predictor of response to antipsychotic drug treatment.
[read the full story...]