Shunting for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

Background: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) occurs when the brain ventricles expand, causing a triad of gait, cognitive, and urinary impairment. It can occur after a clear brain injury such as trauma, but can also occur without a clear cause (termed idiopathic, or iNPH). Non-randomised studies have shown a benefit from surgically diverting ventricular fluid to an area of lower pressure by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-shunting in iNPH, but historically there have been limited randomised controlled trial (RCT) data to confirm this.

Psychological treatments for depression and anxiety in dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Background: Experiencing anxiety and depression is very common in people living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). There is uncertainty about the best treatment approach. Drug treatments may be ineffective and associated with adverse effects.

A qualitative study of patient and professional perspectives of healthcare services for multiple sclerosis: implications for service development and policy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative condition, with heterogeneous symptoms, and an unpredictable prognosis. Previous literature suggests patients' experiences of healthcare are unsatisfactory. Primary care may play a key role in the management of people with MS (PwMS); however, provision of services for PwMS has received little focus in the primary care literature.

Development of a patient-centred conceptual framework of health-related quality of life in neuromyelitis optica: a qualitative study.

Background: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an auto-immune disease that can cause severe visual and mobility impairments. Research on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in NMO is scarce, limiting knowledge on factors influencing HRQoL and support needs.

Aim: This study provides the first qualitative exploration of HRQoL in NMO, conducted to provide a conceptual framework for the development of an NMO patient-reported outcome measure.

PICO, PICOS and SPIDER: a comparison study of specificity and sensitivity in three search tools for qualitative systematic reviews.

Background: Qualitative systematic reviews are increasing in popularity in evidence based health care. Difficulties have been reported in conducting literature searches of qualitative research using the PICO search tool. An alternative search tool, entitled SPIDER, was recently developed for more effective searching of qualitative research, but remained untested beyond its development team.

Experiences of UK health-care services for people with Multiple Sclerosis: a systematic narrative review.

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, degenerative condition with an estimated UK prevalence of 100 000. Contact with health-care services is frequent and long-term; however, little research has investigated the experiences of health care for MS in the UK.

Objective: The aim of this systematic narrative review was to critically review qualitative studies reporting patients' experiences of health-care services in the UK.