Teenagers who have been concussed are three times more likely to have depression, although no one knows why

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Depression in teenagers is a significant problem, with serious and potentially fatal consequences. Estimates of how many teenagers have depression at any one time vary between countries, but overall about 4-5% of mid to late teens worldwide are thought to experience clinical depression every year (Thapar et al, 2012). Much of the current knowledge of [read the full story…]

Limited evidence for the role of lateral cephalometric radiographs in orthodontic treatment

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Lateral cephalometric radiographs were introduced in the 1930s and together with their related analysis have been a standard element of orthodontic treatment planning.  However their role in assessment and treatment planning has been questioned.    The aims of this review were to evaluate the existing evidence about the validation of lateral cephalometric radiograph in orthodontics and [read the full story…]

Can MRI scanning help diagnose autism in infants?

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After recent posts delving off into dark woodlands of some methodologically challenging brain imaging studies, we are coming back to a more simple idea: repeatedly scanning the same people from before they develop a disorder through to receiving a diagnosis.  What is different about this study is that it was done with infants aged 6-36 [read the full story…]

Cutting across diagnostic categories: Does stimulant medication improve ADHD symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder?

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Until fairly recently, it was thought that autism spectrum disorder (ASD; previously known as PDD or pervasive developmental disorder) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were two entirely separate childhood-onset conditions and that they could not both be diagnosed in one individual. Numerous studies in the last decade have shown that, in reality, a number of [read the full story…]

Little evidence for the diagnostic accuracy of new caries detection aids

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Caries is one of our commonest diseases and increasing emphasis is being placed on identifying its earliest stages in order to employ effective interventions.   Visual examination and radiographs have been the traditional approaches to caries detection but newer adjunctive methods based on fiber-optics, fluorescence or electrical impedance have been developed and introduced during the past [read the full story…]

Dementia and the drive to increase diagnosis rates: the debate goes on

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As part of its excellent ‘Too Much Medicine’ series, the British Medical Journal last week published an important analysis of the current direction of travel in the field of dementia care. The article is hard to ignore, written as it is by highly authoritative academics from the UK and Australia, including Professor Carol Brayne, an [read the full story…]

Lack of evidence to support QOF incentives for assessing depression severity using tools in primary care

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Introduction The quality and outcomes framework was set up in 2004 to incentivise aspects of clinical practice within general practice in the UK. Two standards which are incentivised in depression are DEP4 (the percentage of patients who have had assessment of severity at diagnosis using a tool validated for use in primary care (PHQ-9, BDI-II, [read the full story…]

The DSM-5 and the complexities and capitalising of classification

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Today we feature another guest blog from Professor Simon Hatcher’s excellent blog. We’ll be posting one blog every month from Simon who is Full Professor of Psychiatry at The University of Ottawa – Editor. Well it’s not actually a journal article but as everyone and their dog has an opinion on the launch of DSM-5 (the Fifth [read the full story…]

Few advantages found to grouping by diagnosis in staffed housing for people with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder

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The authors of this study were interested in looking at support to adults with autism spectrum disorder in staffed housing services. Their focus was on looking at whether diagnostic congregation, or grouping people with similar diagnoses, was prevalent in services and if so, whether it had any impact on outcomes. They worked with 157 adults [read the full story…]

Visual examination still the best way of detecting early carious lesions

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Yesterday we looked at the management of large carious lesions and today we are considering the other end of the caries process, the detection of the early or non-cavitated carious lesion (NCCLs).   With changes in the severity of dental disease in some population there has been more interest in the identification and management of the [read the full story…]