January coverage 2008
19 January 2008 BMJ
Advice to use topical or oral ibuprofen for chronic knee pain in older people: randomised controlled trial and patient preference study
Objective To determine whether older patients with chronic knee pain should be advised to use topical or oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). [more]
19 January 2008 BMJ
Influences on older people's decision making regarding choice of topical or oral NSAIDs for knee pain: qualitative study
Objective To explore the factors that influence older people’s decision making regarding use of topical or oral ibuprofen for their knee pain. [more]
17 January 2008 Government News Network
Primarolo: NHS health research shapes up for the future
A progress report is published today by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), which summarises all the progress that has been made putting in place the infrastructure, programmes and systems to facilitate health research - since the government launched the Best Research for Best Health strategy in January 2006. [more]
5 January 2008 Lancet
Risperidone, haloperidol, and placebo in the treatment of aggressive challenging behaviour in patients with intellectual disability: a randomised controlled trial
Aggressive challenging behaviour is frequently reported in adults with intellectual disability and it is often treated with antipsychotic drugs. However, no adequate evidence base for this practice exists. We compared flexible doses of haloperidol (a typical, first-generation antipsychotic drug), risperidone (an atypical, second-generation antipsychotic), and placebo, in the treatment of this behaviour. [more]
4 January 2008 BBC News
Learning disability drug warning
About 200,000 people with learning disabilities are treated with the drugs
Doctors are being warned not to routinely give people with learning disabilities anti-psychotic drugs to curb aggressive behaviour. [more]
04 January 2008 MedPage Today
Antipsychotics no better than placebo for aggression in the intellectually disabled
Antipsychotic drugs do not reduce aggression in patients with an IQ below 75, despite common but controversial use for that purpose in the community. Action Points Although aggression decreased substantially whether patients were given a typical or an atypical antipsychotic, the greatest improvements were seen with placebo (65%, 58%, and 79% from baseline, P=0.06), reported Peter Tyrer, M.D., of Imperial College here, and colleagues in the Jan. 5 issue of The Lancet. [more]
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