Rebecca Syed appraises and summarises an updated Cochrane review of compulsory community treatment and involuntary outpatient treatment for people with severe mental disorders. The review finds just 3 trials, which show that CCT results in no significant difference in service use, social functioning or quality of life.
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Elena Marcus finds inconclusive results in this recent systematic review of psychological therapy for anxiety in bipolar spectrum disorders, which includes trials of CBT, mindfulness based cognitive therapy and stress management therapy.
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Josephine Neale reports on a recent cohort study that finds less than half of UK prescriptions for antipsychotics are issued for main licensed conditions (e.g. psychosis or bipolar disorder). The research provides a reminder about the dangers of prescribing antipsychotics to people with dementia.
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Nikki Newhouse reports on a recent systematic review of online social networking and psychosis. Her blog explores the potential benefits and harms of online social networking for people with psychosis, and reflects on some of the challenges facing researchers working in the field.
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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.
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Elly O’Brien summarises a recent RCT of folic acid for depression, which explores whether mood disorders can be prevented in young people at familial risk. The trial finds no evidence that folic acid supplementation reduces the incidence of mood disorders compared to those taking placebo.
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Andrew Shepherd summarises a critical realist analysis that looks at experiences of stigma in people with bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. He concludes that a profound social change in public and professional attitudes is necessary before mental health stigma can be effectively eradicated.
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Kathryn Walsh summarises a systematic review which finds that cannabis use may exacerbate symptoms of mania in those with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and trigger symptoms of mania in the general population.
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Elena Marcus summarises a double case-cohort study, which investigates the risk of suicide and criminal behaviours in people with bipolar disorder and their siblings, compared with the general population.
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Chris Sampson reports on a recent systematic review and critical appraisal of economic evaluations in bipolar disorder. He finds that there’s a pressing need for new studies, especially discrete event simulations.
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