Highlights of the literature in May include articles on the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia, major reviews of psychological interventions in psychosis in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a special issue of Biological Psychiatry describing the boundaries between neurology and psychiatry in neurodegenerative disease, and a nursing-initiated project for managing conflict and containment on psychiatric wards, called Safewards. Finally, there is an important Swedish registry study demonstrating an association between psychotropic medication prescription and reduced violent crime in the Lancet.

Highlights of the literature in April include debate over whether CBT for psychosis has been oversold, calls for an end to the use of the phrase schizophrenia as an increasingly inaccurate anachronism, exploration of the overinclusive concept of bipolar spectrum disorder including difficulties separating it from borderline personality disorder, and evidence that rates of substance use disorders comorbid with severe mental illness have been underestimated. Finally, a viewpoint by Sederer analyses New York’s initiative to fully integrate behavioral health care into primary practice.

Highlights of the literature in March include include evidence from a case series that sleep deprivation and bright light therapy may rapidly improve depressive symptoms and suicidality of patients with severe bipolar depression; a systematic review which shows that modern antidepressants have improved acute but not long-term outcomes of depression; and two family studies which suggest that mania and depression do not lie on opposite ends of a spectrum, but vary independently, consistent with recent increased awareness of mixed states in severe mental illness. Finally, the BMJ published a summary of the updated guidance for the management of psychosis by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Highlights of the literature in February include ongoing dissection of the prospects for the ICD-11 in the ANZJP, with multiple commentaries suggesting the forthcoming edition appears unlikely to improve upon existing nosologies. The ANZJP also includes a proposal for systemic improvements required to humanely manage the growing incidence of behavioural sequelae of dementia in aged care facilities. JAMA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the US Surgeon General report linking smoking to lung cancer, which initiated largely successful public health initiatives to reduce smoking prevalence, alongside data suggesting these initiatives have been far less successful in patients with severe mental illness.

Text and references for the January 2014 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In January Australian Psychiatry Review closes with a focus section on illicit substance induced psychosis. Highlights from the literature include the ANZJP’s announcement of a series looking forward to the ICD-11, alongside the research plans of the winners of John Cade Fellowships in 2013. The AJP considers efforts to enact Kendra’s law in New York state, requiring outpatient treatment for for patients with severe mental illness. The BJP reports that parents can successfully deliver CBT to anxious minors, guided by professionals, and that community treatment orders appear to increase coercion without improving mental health. Translational Psychiatry includes a report that omega-3 fatty acids and multivitamins can worsen psychotic symptoms when added to antipsychotic medications. Links to all articles discussed in the podcast can be found in the podcast transcript.

Text and references for the December 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In December Australian Psychiatry Review includes a focus section on early intervention in psychosis. Other highlights of the psychiatric literature this month include a collection of articles on the role of inflammation and autoimmune antibodies in psychiatric illness in the ANZJP; a review of cognitive processes underlying delusions in the British Journal of Psychiatry; a study showing that group cognitive behavioural therapy can prevent later development of depression in currently non-depressed children of parents with depression in JAMA Psychiatry; and 6 articles on UK patterns of sexual behaviour and health in the Lancet. Finally, the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has a useful clinical practice article summarising evidence on the risks and benefits of switching antipsychotics in patients who are clinically stable but experiencing side effects. Links to all articles discussed in the podcast can be found in the podcast transcript.

In November Australian Psychiatry Review features a focus section on psychiatric genetics, rejuvenated by recent replications of genome-wide association studies. Other highlights of the literature reviewed this month include Atigari and Healy’s suggestion that the proconvulsant effects of clozapine. lithium, and ketamine, may be a novel therapeutic principle rather than a side-effect. Jelovac and colleagues provide a systematic review showing maintenance ECT does not change relapse after a primary ECT course. Zipursky and colleagues persuasively argue against what they describe as the myth that schizophrenia is a neurodegenerative disorder. Finally, Priebe and colleagues report that small financial incentives can greatly increase treatment adherence in previously poorly adherent patients on depot antipsychotics.

Text and references for the November 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.