Cardiovascular safety of methylphenidate

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Samuele Cortese considers the findings of a recent nationwide self controlled case series study of the cardiovascular safety of methylphenidate use in children and young people with ADHD.

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Nalmefene for alcohol dependence: new evidence casts doubt over NICE recommendations

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Matt Field presents new evidence on the risks and benefits of nalmefene in the treatment of adult alcohol dependence, which casts further doubt over the controversial recommendations made by NICE and the European Medicines Agency.

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Long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate for schizophrenia

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Tracey Roberts summarises a recent RCT of the efficacy and safety of paliperidone palmitate 3-month formulation for patients with schizophrenia.

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Amphetamines and methylphenidate for paediatric ADHD: meta-analysis of n-of-1 trials

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Samuele Cortese publishes his debut Mental Elf blog on a meta-analysis of n-of-1 trials, which shows that amphetamine derivatives and methylphenidate are superior to placebo, in the short term, for paediatric ADHD.

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Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation in severe mental illness

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Andrew Jones reports on a recent systematic review and network meta-analysis of the efficacy and tolerability of pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation in severe mental illness, which finds a promising but low quality result for bupropion and varenicline.

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The harms of psychotherapy: are BME and LGBT communities more at risk?

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Keith Laws and Samei Huda mull over a recent national survey looking at patients experiences of the harms of psychotherapy. The study reports that both black and minority ethnic people and lesbian, gay and bisexual people reported higher rates of long-lasting negative effects of psychotherapy.

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What do you want from your psychiatric medication?

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John Baker presents a systematic review of preferences for medication-associated outcomes in mental disorders, which concludes that we just don’t know what value mental health service users place on the different outcomes that come from taking psychiatric medication.

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Commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs: do they work?

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John Baker summarises a review of commonly prescribed medication that covers seven psychiatric drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, methylphenidate and cholinesterase inhibitors.

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Antidepressants: benefits and harms in children and adults

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Samei Huda discusses the findings of a recent review into suicidality and aggression during antidepressant treatment. The systematic review and meta-analyses were based on clinical study reports and included some important adverse effects of antidepressants in children and young people.

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Is the NICE guideline for bipolar disorder biased in favour of psychosocial interventions?

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Guy Goodwin reviews a new paper in the Lancet Psychiatry by Jauhar, McKenna and Laws, that calls into question the trustworthiness of the NICE bipolar disorder guidance.

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