Service Improvement Guide: Self administration of medicines in Mental Health Trusts

Service Improvement Guide: Self administration of medicines in Mental Health Trusts ,  April 2008, NPC, National Prescribing Centre
Click on the title for the full-text
Abstract:  Welcome to this short guide describing some of the work undertaken through the collaborative
programmes hosted by the Medicines Management Services (MMS) Team based at the National Prescribing Centre (NPC) in Liverpool. Enabling [...]

Court of Appeal ruling on NICE guidance on the use of Alzheimer’s drugs

 
Court of Appeal ruling on NICE guidance on the use of Alzheimer’s drugs ,2nd May 2008, NeLM, Nice Guidance & BBC news   

Abstract: BBC Health news reports that the Court of Appeal has ruled that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) should have been more transparent in the way it made decisions over Alzheimer’s [...]

Dementia - Always a last resort: Inquiry into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia living in care homes

  Always a last resort: Inquiry into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia living in care homes, Alzheimer’s Society , 28th April 2008
Abstract:
An influential group of MPs is calling on the Government to stop the dangerous over-prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia.
Up to 105,000 people with dementia are given [...]

New Cochrane Review - Paliperidone for schizophrenia

  Paliperidone for schizophrenia, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 2, Art. No.: CD006369
Abstract: According to a Cochrane systematic review comparing the effects of oral paliperidone with other treatments for schizophrenia, oral paliperidone is more efficacious than placebo, and has an adverse effect profile similar to risperidone.The authors included data from randomised controlled trials [...]

Pharmacological Management of Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease

  The Art of Prescribing
Pharmacological Management of Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease: Clinical Challenges Associated With Second-Generation Antipsychotic Medications , Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Volume 44 Issue 2 Page 120-123, April 2008
Abstract:

QUESTION. There is growing concern about the use of second-generation or atypical antipsychotic medications in the management of psychosis in patients with Alzheimer’s disease [...]

Dementia - Current Pharmacologic Treatment of Dementia: A Clinical Practice

    Current Pharmacologic Treatment of Dementia: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians,  Annals of Internal Medicine, 4 March 2008 | Volume 148 Issue 5 | Pages 370-378
Abstract: Description: The American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians developed this guideline to present the [...]

Dementia - Effectiveness of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine for Treating Dementia: Evidence Review for a Clinical Practice Guideline

   Effectiveness of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine for Treating Dementia: Evidence Review for a Clinical Practice Guideline Annals of Internal Medicine, 4 March 2008 | Volume 148 Issue 5 | Pages 379-397
Background: The effectiveness of the 5 U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved pharmacologic therapies for dementias in achieving clinically relevant improvements is unclear. Purpose: To review [...]

CBT for Weight gain associated with antipsychotic drugs

Cognitive behavioural therapy for weight gain associated with antipsychotic drugs,  Schizophrenia Research, Volume 91, Issues 1-3, March 2007, Pages 169-177
Abstract:
Background
Overweight and obesity are common concerns in individuals with severe mental disorders. In particular, antipsychotic drugs (AP) frequently induce weight gain. This phenomenon lacks current management and no previous controlled studies seem to use cognitive therapy to [...]

Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder

    Augmentation of antidepressants with atypical antipsychotics for treatment-resistant major depressive disorder , Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, Volume 117, Issue 4, Page 253-259, Apr 2008
Abstract: Objective: Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) have been hypothesized to be beneficial in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). This paper will review a biochemical rationale and will summarize the data regarding the effectiveness of AAPs in [...]

CBT or SSRI Alone - Results of a Multicentre Trial

   Is a combined therapy more effective than either CBT or SSRI alone? Results of a multicenter trial on panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, April 2008, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinaviaca, Vol 117, (4) pg 260-270  
Abstract: Objective: To establish whether the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy (SSRI) was more effective in treating panic disorder (PD) [...]

BMJ - Efficacy of Anitidepressants for Depression

   Efficacy of antidepressants,  March 2008, BMJ, 336:516-517
Abstract:  In February 2008, Kirsch and colleagues reported a meta-analysis of the efficacy of antidepressants using data from clinical trials submitted to the Food and Drug Administration.1 They provocatively concluded, “there seems little evidence to support the prescription of antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients.” [...]

CBT for Bipolar - Combining Medication Treatment and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Bipolar

   Combining Medication Treatment and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Bipolar, (2007) Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly
Abstract: Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a severe, recurrent psychiatric illness characterized by a chronic course of vacillating episodes of major depression and mania that impair functioning across many psychosocial domains {DSM-IV; DSM-FV-TR). Within each type of episode, changes occur [...]

Prozac, Seroxat are there any Antidepressant Benefits for Depression

   Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration , 26th February 2008, Plos Medicine, Systematic Review
Full-text click above link
Irving Kirsch, Brett J. Deacon, Tania B. Huedo-Medina, Alan Scoboria, Thomas J. Moore, Blair T. Johnson

There seems little reason to prescribe anti-depressant medication to any but the most [...]

Royal College of Psychiatrists - Psychiatrists urge people to consult their doctor before stopping antidepressants

   Psychiatrists urge people to consult their doctor before stopping antidepressants, 26th February 2008
Abstract: The Royal College of Psychiatrists has urged people taking antidepressants not to discontinue their medication without consulting a doctor.
NICE guidelines point to the efficacy of antidepressants as well as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)for people with moderate to [...]

Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy for Schizophrenia

    Combining Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy for Schizophrenia, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Volume 21, Number 1, 2007 , pp. 28-36(9)
Abstract: Cognitive therapy (CT) is now recognized as an effective intervention for schizophrenia in clinical guidelines developed in the United States (APA, 2006; Lehman et al., 2004) and Europe (e.g., National Institute of Clinical Excellence, 2002). However, [...]

BMJ - Antidepressants and Suicide

Antidepressants and Suicide,  BMJ, British Medical Journal,  39482, 14 February 2008
Abstract: Two accompanying observational studies by Biddle and colleagues and Wheeler and colleagues add to the recent literature regarding changes in antidepressant use and changes in suicide rates.1 2 The current controversy began in2003,whenreanalyses of data from clinical trials raised concerns that antidepressants might precipitate [...]

Paliperidone for schizophrenia

    Paliperidone for schizophrenia,  (200 American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Vol. 65, Issue 5, 403-413

Abstract: The American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy has featured a review on paliperidone for schizophrenia. The review discusses the efficacy, safety, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of paliperidone and concludes that “paliperidone does not offer any clear advantage over other atypical antipsychotics [...]

Free Access to Special On - Developing New Treatments of Personality Disorder

   Journal of Mental Health, Vol.16 (1) 2007

Personality disorder  1 – 4     Author: Peter Fonagy
Reviews
Pharmacotherapy of personality disorders  5 – 50  Authors: Joseph Triebwasser; Larry J. Siever

Dialectical behaviour therapy: An increasing evidence base  51 – 68  Author: Janet Feigenbaum

Original Articles
Understanding and engaging families: An education, skills and support program for relatives impacted by borderline personality [...]

Cochrane - Risperidone versus placebo for schizophrenia (Protocol)

    Risperidone versus placebo for schizophrenia (Protocol), Rattehalli RD, Jayaram MB. (Protocol) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008,Issue 1. Art. No.: CD006918. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006918.
Abstract: Conventional antipsychotic drugs, introduced into widespread use in the 1950s, formed the mainstay of drug treatment for schizophrenia. Although these drugs were indeed a revolution, their early promise of complete recovery [...]

FDA Alerts Health Care Providers to Risk of Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior with Antiepileptic Medications

FDA Alerts Health Care Providers to Risk of Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior with Antiepileptic Medications 31st January 2008
Information for Healthcare Professionals Suicidality& Antiepileptic Drugs
Abstract: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued new information to health care professionals to alert them about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (suicidality) in patients who take drugs [...]

Systematic Review of Bipolar

A systematic review and economic model of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions for preventing relapse in people with
bipolar disorder, 2007 from Health Technology Assessment
Evaluation of bipolar disorder treatments found a number of effective and cost-effective drug therapies, however preferred treatment depends on the specific characteristics of an individual’s disorder; psychosocial interventions may be [...]

NICE implementation uptake report

NICE implementation uptake report: lithium and valproate prescribing for bipolar disorder
NICE implementation uptake reports provide information on national trends and activity associated with technologies recommended in NICE guidance.
Overview
Latest trends show that the prescribing rate for lithium is steady, in line with expectations for this drug.  Lithium is an established treatment for bipolar disorder and continues [...]

One for the Pharmacists

Talking About Medicines: The management of medicines in trusts providing mental health services from the Healthcare Commission 2007.
  Surveys of people using mental health services and audits undertaken as part of this
review have provided evidence of a very high use of medicines in care plans (on average
92% of people who responded to the survey of [...]