Our blog

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Babies and antipsychotics don’t appear to mix

Drug safety is very much on the agenda in the UK, with the government’s Early Access to Medicines Scheme unveiled to great industry acclaim earlier this year. The scheme allows patients with serious illness to gain access to drugs before they are approved, with lobbyists making much of the popular benefit of ‘greater choice’. A…

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English unemployment and poverty – and the landscape for antidepressants

New research, published as a part of QualityWatch, a joint initiative of the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation reveals a stark trend in the incidence of antidepressant prescribing in England. Between 1998 and 2012 (the last year for which data was available), the number of antidepressants dispensed in the community each year rose from 15…

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New research on which to meditate

We hear a lot about meditation these days, mostly as an antidote to stress. But it has also been associated with improving mood and sleep quality, enhancing memory and reducing some of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Far from being a definitive technique, meditation takes many forms, from mindfulness (whose marketing machine seems to…

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Don’t panic: it’s Mental Health Awareness Week

Did you know it’s Mental Health Awareness Week? Don’t panic if not; you have two more days to get your head around this year’s theme, anxiety, now one of the most common mental health problems here and in the rest of the world. The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) is a key driver of Mental Health…

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Relief for depression in spades

Getting out into the great outdoors is good for us all, especially at this time of year. And what could be more delightful than colluding with nature in a spot of gardening, to fully immerse oneself in the experience. It seems that such a strategy may be more than just a good idea for people…

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Gone fishing

Continuing on our diet and cognition theme (see recent post on the brain benefits of green tea), new research showcased at Experimental Biology 2014 (San Diego, California) has found that low consumption of fish may be a risk factor for cognitive decline. Which is good news for those of us who don’t need much of…

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Make mine a green tea

You’ve probably heard that green tea is an excellent source of antioxidants, and so it is. Unlike other types of tea, it is made from unoxidised leaves and is minimally processed. This may account for its association with various health benefits, including reduction in stroke and heart disease risk and anti-cancer efficacy. Researchers in Switzerland…

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The power of gratitude

In the Western world, we live with an unprecedented level of material abundance. You just need to take a look down the high street at the preponderance of coffee shops and nail bars (alongside the ever-increasing army of estate agents) to gauge the generalised decadence of our way of life. Most of us want for…

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