Metformin for the Prevention of Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain: Guideline Development and Consensus Validation.

Background: Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent in people with severe mental illness (SMI). Antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG) is one of the most commonly reported and distressing side effects of treatment and people living with SMI place a high value on the avoidance of this side effect. Metformin is the most effective pharmacological intervention studied for the prevention of AIWG yet clear guidelines are lacking and evidence has not translated into practice.

Children's rights and wrongs: respect, equality and dignity.

Despite the almost global ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ireland and the international community fall short on the full realisation of these standards. Among the many pervasive and enduring failures are the persistence of child poverty, inadequate access to healthcare services, inequality of access to education, and continued discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. A highly relevant concern in today's world is the increasing exposure of children to armed conflict and our inability to effect change.

The survival outcomes of localized low-risk prostate cancer, a population-based study using NCDB.

Background: The optimal treatment approach for low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC) remains controversial. While active surveillance is an increasingly popular option, definitive local treatments, including radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), and prostate seed implantation (PSI), are also commonly used. This study aimed to evaluate the survival outcomes of patients with LRPC using a large patient population from the National Cancer Database (NCDB).

Attachment theory: survival, trauma, and war through the eyes of Bowlby.

Children are no strangers to war and conflict, and for as long as history has been documented, so too has the negative impact of war on children. Attachment theory, which has shone a light upon the ways in which early life experiences can impact individuals across the lifespan, is a helpful lens through which we can view the consequences of war. Similar to the aftermath of war leading to lifelong and transgenerational suffering due to deaths and physical health issues, attachment difficulties created during war further compound long-term damage.

Response rates to sequential trials of antipsychotic medications according to algorithms or treatment guidelines in psychotic disorders. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is a relative lack of research evaluating the outcomes when treatment guidelines or algorithms for psychotic disorders are followed. This systematic review and meta-analysis determined the response rates to antipsychotic medications at different stages of these algorithms and whether these response rates differ in first episode cohorts.

Methods: Data sources: A systematic search strategy was conducted across four databases PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO (Ovid) and CINAHL.

Impact factor and future directions for the .

Impact factor (IF) is a concept dating back over half a century, created to evaluate the impact of a journal within a particular scientific field. In spite of limitations, IF remains a widely used metric for journals to establish the average number of citations for articles published in a journal. The Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (IJPM) recently received an IF of 5.

Turning the Spotlight on Apathy: Identification and Treatment in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

Among negative symptoms, apathy is central to the impairments in real-life functioning in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Thus, optimizing treatment for apathy appears key to improve outcomes. In treatment research, however, negative symptoms are typically studied as a unifactorial construct.

Psychosocial and behavioural interventions for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia: a systematic review of efficacy meta-analyses.

Background: Currently there is no first-line treatment recommended for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Psychosocial and behavioural interventions are widely used to reduce the burden of negative symptoms. Meta-analytic studies have summarised the evidence for specific approaches but not compared evidence quality and benefit.

Conduction system pacing, a European survey: insights from clinical practice.

Aims: The field of conduction system pacing (CSP) is evolving, and our aim was to obtain a contemporary picture of European CSP practice.

Methods And Results: A survey was devised by a European CSP Expert Group and sent electronically to cardiologists utilizing CSP. A total of 284 physicians were invited to contribute of which 171 physicians (60.

The implementation of a public health alcohol policy in Ireland.

In 2012, the Irish Department of Health published a strategy in relation to alcohol and flagged that a Public Health (Alcohol) Act would be pursued through the Houses of the Oireachtas. This Public Health (Alcohol) Act was intended to reduce alcohol consumption and the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol. The act includes various means for this purpose, including introducing statutory minimum prices on alcohol, restricting alcohol advertising, addition of warning labels to alcohol products, and reducing the visibility of alcohol products in retail outlets.

The importance of anthropology in psychiatry.

Anthropology is defined as "the study of humans", while psychiatric anthropology is a subfield of cultural anthropology which uses qualitative methodologies to explore the experience of mental illness. In a field that is often dominated by quantitative research, an anthropological approach allows us to understand experiences surrounding illness and the cultural context of mental illness. The articles presented in this issue of the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine explore individual and group perspectives within a variety of cultural and historical contexts.

Attenuation of opioid tolerance by ETA receptor antagonist, BQ123, administered intravenously in mice.

Objectives: Intracerebroventricular injection of endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ123 potentiates opioid analgesia and reverses analgesic tolerance. This study explores whether these effects can be replicated by injecting BQ123 intravenously.

Methods: Male Swiss-Webster mice were used.

The global impact on mental health almost 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Approaching 2 years into a global pandemic, it is timely to reflect on how COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of the global population. With research continuing apace, a clearer picture should crystallise in time. COVID-19 has undoubtedly had some impact on population mental health, although the severity and duration of this impact remain less clear.

Public mental health: a psychiatry and public health perspective.

Mental health issues are fast becoming one of society's greatest health challenges with evidence of higher levels of illness and strain on psychiatric services. The reasons for this trend of increasing mental health problems across the population are complex and there is an urgent need to research and deliver effective public mental health strategies. In this perspective piece we argue that psychiatrists and public health physicians have unique knowledge and perspectives on population mental health.