Nervous system diseases

More than 1,000 patients stopped taking antidepressants after introduction of local deprescribing guidelines

Exclusive: Guidelines published in 2021 have helped Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group move from having the fifth highest antidepressant prescribing rate in the country to the eighth highest.…

Multiple sclerosis: disease-modifying therapies

An overview of the available evidence for each disease-modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis, when they are indicated, as well as each stage of patient care.…

Therapy combined with MDMA is effective in treating severe PTSD, phase III trial results suggest

Researchers concluded that MDMA-assisted therapy was highly efficacious, safe and well tolerated in those suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.…

Boots to provide mental health care service for £65 per month

The service has been launched in response to a rise in patients asking for mental health advice and support in Boots pharmacies.…

Combined treatment with mirtazapine linked to better outcomes in patients with acute depression, review shows

Combining a reuptake inhibitor with a presynaptic α2-autoreceptor antagonist was found to be the most effective combination in terms of treatment outcomes.…

Boots to launch private mental health service soon, says chief pharmacist

Exclusive: Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist for Boots, said the multiple would be launching a mental health service to increase access for patients and ease pressure on the NHS.…

Case study: treatment-resistant schizophrenia

An examination of how a patient with schizophrenia, who is transferred from a mental health hospital to the community, is treated with clozapine effectively.…

Antidepressants should not be routinely offered to patients with ‘less severe’ depression, NICE says

In its first guideline on the management of depression in adults in 12 years, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that antidepressants should only be offered to patients with "less severe" depression if that is their preference.…

Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care

An overview of evident racial inequalities in mental health treatments across all ages, as well as discussion on how pharmacists can challenge and/or prevent this imbalance.…

Depression omitted from new medicine service extension despite increase in antidepressant prescribing during pandemic

The new medicine service has been expanded to cover 16 therapeutic conditions but depression, and its associated use of antidepressants, has not been included.…