Could a decision support tool help to guide mental health treatment in primary care?

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Linda Gask reviews a recent randomised controlled trial on the clinical efficacy of a Decision Support Tool (Link-me) to “guide the intensity of mental health care in primary practice”.

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Betel quid and areca nut chewing and oral cancer prognosis

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This review of the links between the habit of betel quid and areca nut (BQ-AN) chewing and the prognosis of oral cancer included 11 observational studies. The findings suggest that lower 5-year survival is seen in those with a BQ-AN chewing habit.

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ADHD remission: why do some children ‘outgrow’ ADHD whilst others don’t?

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A group of UCL Mental Health Masters students summarise a recent literature review that explores the potential pathways to ADHD remission.

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Autotransplantation of teeth with incomplete root formation have good success rates

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This review of success and survival rates and complications of autotransplantation of teeth with incomplete root formation included 32 observational studies only 5 of which were considered to be of high quality. Good success rates were noted but findings should be interpreted cautiously

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Prognosis of brief psychotic episodes

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Samei Huda presents the findings of a new meta-analysis, which explores the prognostic significance of competing ways of defining and measuring brief psychotic episodes.

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Can fMRI measuring striatal connectivity help predict response to antipsychotics?

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Samei Huda steps into George Clooney’s shoes to discuss baseline striatal functional connectivity as a predictor of response to antipsychotic drug treatment.

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Limited evidence available for caries risk assessment systems

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Predicting an individuals risk of caries is considered to be an important element in managing the condition and recommending appropriate care and treatment. A range of methods are currently used, included for example socio-demographic, socio economic, dietary factors, and oral hygiene practices.  The aim of this review was to assess the accuracy and the quality [read the full story…]

What is the rate of disease progression in aggressive periodontitis?

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Periodontitis is common, but aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is thought to progress faster than chronic periodontitis (CP). Reviews suggest that tooth loss as a result of periodontitis is in the order of 1.5-9.8%. The aim of this current review was to investigate tooth loss and disease progression in aggressive periodontitis cases. The Medline and Embase databases [read the full story…]

Surgical extrusion for crown-root and cervical root fractures

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Crown-root and cervical root fractures present a restorative challenge due to sub-gingival position of the fracture margin. . A number of treatment approaches have been proposed, crown lengthening, intentional re-implantation, re-attachment of the coronal fragment to root surface, root extrusion (orthodontic or surgical) or extraction.   Two reviews have recently been published ( Das et al [read the full story…]

The prognosis of acute and persistent low-back pain: a meta-analysis

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Low back pain (LBP) is one of the main reasons for people consulting their general practitioner and seeking treatment from a physiotherapist. The provision of accurate advice on the recovery for LBP is an important feature of any consultation, yet there is disagreement as to its prognosis. Therefore, it was with great interest that I [read the full story…]