Physical health needs to be promoted in patients with severe mental illness Young patients with schizophrenia present with cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidaemia, obesity and hypertension, researchers find.…
Fluoxetine is the only antidepressant to be used in bipolar disorder, NICE says NICE is now focusing on the effectiveness of individual drugs, rather than the tradition of recommending drug classes as a whole for its bipolar guidance.…
Antipsychotics and forensics: my week in mental health pharmacy In a week-long mental health placement at Nottingham Healthcare Trust, pharmacy student Catherine Leggett had the opportunity to visit a mother and baby ward and a low security forensic ward…
Chief medical officer’s annual report focuses on mental healthCMO Sally Davies has called for an end to healthcare providers’ focus on “wellbeing”, saying there is little evidence to support this approach for tackling mental ill-health.…
How pharmacists can improve the care of vulnerable patients Specialist pharmacists discuss the issues surrounding vulnerable patient groups at the RPS annual conference.…
Integrated care for cancer patients with depression is effective There is a high prevalence of untreated depression in patients with cancer but an integrated treatment programme is proving to be effective.…
Take action to prevent misuse of psychotropic medicines in care homes English Pharmacy Board chairman Dave Branford makes the case for pharmacists to have more input into care home prescribing.…
SSRI anti-depressants play a role in the brain’s connectivity, suggests study Further research is needed to establish whether serotonin-induced connectivity changes hold promise to translate into meaningful predictors for antidepressant response…
Study sheds light on genetic basis of schizophreniaResearchers find more than a hundred specific locations in the human genome associated with risk for the brain disease.…
How clozapine patients can be monitored safely and effectivelyPatients who are taking clozapine require ongoing monitoring because of the risk of serious blood dyscrasias. What should pharmacists be checking before they dispense the medicine?…
