The researchers in this study were interested in looking at the extent to which a diagnosis of learning disability met current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria. They wanted to know the prevalence of reported autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the extent to which the assessment of developmental issues was seen [read the full story…]
Patients with first episode psychosis often relapse after initial remission, so it is perhaps surprising that treatment guidelines for the condition are generally based on poor quality evidence. Antipsychotic drugs are frequently discontinued, but clinicians don’t have ready access to information that shows how to determine which patients can be successfully tapered off of antipsychotic [read the full story…]
Many studies have looked at the difficulties associated with medication management in people with learning disabilities. This study set out to looked at an approach to medication management and treatment in an outpatient psychiatry clinic for 198 community-residing children and adults with learning disability who were referred to the clinic and subsequently discharged over an [read the full story…]
This bulletin from the NHS Information Centre reports on the use of medicines in hospitals and puts their use into context by comparing it with their use in primary care and with medicines prescribed in hospitals but dispensed in the community. The bulletin explores the use of medicines used in the management of Attention Deficit [read the full story…]
Despite what you read in the tabloid press, the vast majority of people with mental health problems are not violent. However, when violence does occur in hospitals, it’s important that healthcare professionals know how to manage the situation. This new systematic review has been conducted by a team of Italian researchers who searched a range [read the full story…]
I’ve blogged before about mental health and smoking cessation, so I was interested to read about this new review on the subject published by a researcher in Spain, which aims to assess the best way for adults with major depression, schizophrenia and psychosis to give up smoking. The review searched a very wide range of [read the full story…]
There continues to be some debate about the numbers of people with learning disabilities in UK prisons, partly due to the lack of consensus on definitions of learning disability in studies and different approaches to establishing the boundaries between learning difficulty, borderline learning disability and learning disability. The Bradley report recommended amongst its key recommendations [read the full story…]
Existing studies have identified associations between psychosis and serious crimes such as homicide, but to date it has been unclear to what extent psychotic disorders are associated with arson (the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to buildings or the natural environment). This study conducted by researchers at Oxford University used data from the Swedish [read the full story…]
Childhood sexual abuse is a strong predictor of schizophrenia in later life, a leading psychiatrist has told the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2011. It is a contributing cause of 17 per cent of cases of psychotic illness including schizophrenia, Professor Paul Bebbington, Head of the Department of Mental Health Sciences at [read the full story…]
This meta-analysis adds more weight to the argument that cannabis use plays a causal role in the development of psychosis in some patients. The review pooled 83 studies that reported on age at onset of psychotic illness in substance-using and non–substance-using groups. The study found that: Age at onset of psychosis for cannabis users was [read the full story…]
