Tobacco smoking, cognition and first episode psychosis: time for a rethink?

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Marcus Munafo appraises a recent cross sectional study of tobacco smoking and its association with cognition in first episode psychosis patients.

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Psychosocial interventions for negative symptoms in psychosis

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Rachel Upthegrove reviews a new systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological and psychosocial interventions for negative symptoms in psychosis.

This is the third in a new series of Mental Elf blogs produced in partnership with the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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Life expectancy in schizophrenia and years of potential life lost

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Joanne Wallace summarises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis that reinforces the urgent call for better interventions to address the causes of premature death in schizophrenia.

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Autoantibody in schizophrenia? Elementary, my dear Lennox

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Carmine Pariante considers the implications of a recent case-control study, which looks at the prevalence and clinical characteristics of serum neuronal cell surface antibodies in first-episode psychosis.

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Nicotine reverses hypofrontality in animal models of addiction and schizophrenia

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Marcus Munafo looks at a complex and sophisticated series of experiments that provide further insight into the relationships between genetic risk, cigarette smoking and schizophrenia.

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A crisis map: charting the topography of home treatment

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Derek Tracy and Lisa Lloyd look back over the last 17 years of mental health crisis care and consider the findings of a new survey of Crisis Resolution Teams in England.

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Omega-3 fatty acids to prevent psychosis: the importance of replication (NEURAPRO trial)

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Raphael Underwood summarises the NEURAPRO trial, which concludes that Omega-3 fatty acids are no better than placebo at preventing transition to psychosis in young people at ultrahigh risk for psychotic disorders.

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The role of pets in supporting people living with mental distress

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Alison Faulkner (and her cats) delight in a recent qualitative study looking at the impact pets can have on the everyday lives of people diagnosed with a long-term mental health condition.

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#MQScienceMeeting: transforming lives with better mental health research

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André Tomlin looks back at the #MQScienceMeeting Mental Health Science Meeting that took place in London on 2-3 Feb 2017.

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In search of the sweet spot: the links between dysglycaemia and first episode psychosis

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Ben Perry publishes his debut blog on a recent systematic review of impaired glucose homeostasis in first-episode schizophrenia.

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