WITHDRAWN: Gluten- and casein-free diets for autistic spectrum disorder.

Background: It has been suggested that peptides from gluten and casein may have a role in the origins of autism and that the physiology and psychology of autism might be explained by excessive opioid activity linked to these peptides. Research has reported abnormal levels of peptides in the urine and cerebrospinal fluid of people with autism.

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of gluten and/or casein free diets as an intervention to improve behaviour, cognitive and social functioning in individuals with autism.

A systematic review and synthesis of outcome domains for use within forensic services for people with intellectual disabilities.

Background: There is limited empirical information on service-level outcome domains and indicators for the large number of people with intellectual disabilities being treated in forensic psychiatric hospitals.

Aims: This study identified and developed the domains that should be used to measure treatment outcomes for this population.

Method: A systematic review of the literature highlighted 60 studies which met eligibility criteria; they were synthesised using content analysis.

Institutional abuse - Characteristics of victims, perpetrators and organsations: A systematic review.

Background: Abuse of vulnerable adults in institutional settings has been reported from various countries; however, there has been no systematic review of the characteristics of the victims and their abusers. Our aim was to identify and synthesise the literature on victims, perpetrators and institutions where abuse occured in order to inform interventions to prevent such abuse.

Methods: Searches of MEDLINE (OVID), CINHAL (EBSCO), EMBASE (OVID) and PsychINFO (OVID) databases identified 4279 references.

Eight decades of mortality in an English high-security hospital.

Background: Psychiatric patients are known to have poorer physical health than the general population and to have premature mortality, but the impact of institutional care on the physical health of patients is less clear.

Aims: This study aimed to compare mortality rates and causes of death between a high-security psychiatric hospital cohort and the general population in England for the periods 1920-1961 and 1972-2000.

Method: Data were obtained from various clinical and non-clinical archives and death certificates.

Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending.

Background: Sexual offending is a serious social problem, a public health issue, and a major challenge for social policy. Victim surveys indicate high incidence and prevalence levels and it is accepted that there is a high proportion of hidden sexual victimisation. Surveys report high levels of psychiatric morbidity in survivors of sexual offences.

Psychological interventions for adults who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending.

Background: Sexual offending is a legal construct that overlaps, but is not entirely congruent with, clinical constructs of disorders of sexual preference. Sexual offending is both a social and a public health issue. Victim surveys illustrate high incidence and prevalence levels, and it is commonly accepted that there is considerable hidden sexual victimisation.

WITHDRAWN: Managements for people with disorders of sexual preference and for convicted sexual offenders.

This review has been withdrawn (Issue 9, 2012) as it is no longer current and is to be superseded by two new reviews. The editorial group responsible for this previously published document have withdrawn it from publication.

Pharmacological interventions for paranoid personality disorder.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of pharmacological interventions for people with paranoid personality disorder (PPD).

Pharmacological interventions for schizotypal personality disorder.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of pharmacological interventions for people with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SzPD).

Pharmacological interventions for antisocial personality disorder.

Background: Antisocial personality disorder (AsPD) is associated with a wide range of disturbance including persistent rule-breaking, criminality, substance misuse, unemployment, homelessness and relationship difficulties.

Objectives: To evaluate the potential beneficial and adverse effects of pharmacological interventions for people with AsPD.

Search Strategy: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 3), MEDLINE (1950 to September 2009), EMBASE (1980 to 2009, week 37), CINAHL (1982 to September 2009), PsycINFO (1872 to September 2009) , ASSIA (1987 to September 2009) , BIOSIS (1985 to September 2009), COPAC (September 2009), National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts (1970 to July 2008), Sociological Abstracts (1963 to September 2009), ISI-Proceedings (1981 to September 2009), Science Citation Index (1981 to September 2009), Social Science Citation Index (1981 to September 2009), SIGLE (1980 to April 2006), Dissertation Abstracts (September 2009), ZETOC (September 2009) and the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (September 2009).

Psychological interventions for antisocial personality disorder.

Background: Antisocial personality disorder (AsPD) is associated with a wide range of disturbance including persistent rule-breaking, criminality, substance use, unemployment, homelessness and relationship difficulties.

Objectives: To evaluate the potential beneficial and adverse effects of psychological interventions for people with AsPD.

Search Strategy: Our search included CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ASSIA, BIOSIS and COPAC.

Group-based parent-training programmes for improving emotional and behavioural adjustment in children from birth to three years old.

Background: Emotional and behavioural problems in children are common. Research suggests that parenting has an important role to play in helping children to become well-adjusted, and that the first few months and years are especially important. Parenting programmes may have a role to play in improving the emotional and behavioural adjustment of infants and toddlers.

Antiepileptics for aggression and associated impulsivity.

Background: Aggression is a major public health issue and is integral to several mental health disorders. Antiepileptic drugs may reduce aggression by acting on the central nervous system to reduce neuronal hyper-excitability associated with aggression.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in reducing aggression and associated impulsivity.

Psychological interventions for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the potential beneficial and adverse effects of psychological interventions for people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and to make recommendations for future areas of research.

Pharmacological interventions for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the potential beneficial and adverse effects of pharmacological interventions for people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and to make recommendations for future areas of research.

Childhood risk factors for offending before first psychiatric admission for people with schizophrenia: a case-control study of high security hospital admissions.

Background: People with schizophrenia who offend do not constitute a homogenous population. Pre-illness characteristics may distinguish groups.

Aims: To test for differences in prevalence of childhood risk factors for offending between serious offenders with schizophrenia who had started offending before their first ever psychiatric admission (pre-admission offenders) and those who had started after it (post-admission offenders).

A comparison of the family and childhood backgrounds of hospitalised offenders with schizophrenia or personality disorder.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated high levels of childhood adversity and familial criminality in offender patients with schizophrenia and/or personality disorder, but few have directly compared these groups.

Aims: To compare the parenting histories of offender patients with schizophrenia with those with personality disorder. We hypothesised that rates of family criminality and experiences of disrupted parenting would be higher in the personality disorder group than the schizophrenia group.

Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of pharmacological interventions on target sexual behaviour for people who have been convicted or at risk of sexual offending.

Computerised cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression: systematic review.

Background: Computerised cognitive-behavioural therapy (CCBT) is used for treating depression and provides a potentially useful alternative to therapist cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

Aims: To systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness of CCBT for the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

Method: Electronic databases were searched to identify randomised controlled trials.

A systematic review of the Soteria paradigm for the treatment of people diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Background: The "Soteria paradigm" attempts to support people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders using a minimal medication approach. Interest in this approach is growing in the United Kingdom, several European countries, North America, and Australasia.

Aims: To summarize the findings from all controlled trials that have assessed the efficacy of the Soteria paradigm for the treatment of people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Computerised cognitive behaviour therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a systematic review.

Background: Computer-guided therapy is an innovative treatment strategy that could have an important role in the future of psychological treatment. This paper summarises the available published evidence that assesses the effectiveness of a computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Methods: Fifteen electronic bibliographic databases including Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Cinahl, PsycINFO, Biological Abstracts, HMIC and NHS CRD databases were comprehensively searched in March 2004: ['obsessive compulsive disorder' (text and indexed terms)] AND ['cognitive therapy' (text and indexed terms)] AND ['computer' (text and indexed terms)].

QTc-interval abnormalities in a forensic population.

Background: Antipsychotic drugs have been linked to sudden death among psychiatric patients, with a suggestion that prolongation of the QT-interval detectable on a standard electrocardiogram may be linked to fatal cardiac arrhythmias in these circumstances. Patients in secure forensic psychiatric facilities may be particularly likely to be on high-dose antipsychotic medication, and yet, as far as the authors are aware, no study of QT-intervals among such patients has been reported.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of QT-interval abnormalities and associated known risk factors for fatal cardiac arrhythmias in a sample of forensic patients.

Does the non-randomized controlled study have a place in the systematic review? A pilot study.

Background: A major issue in any systematic review is deciding which trials or studies to include and which to exclude. The Cochrane Collaboration and similar respected organizations have traditionally viewed the randomized trial (RCT) as the only acceptable evidence on treatment outcome. However, many systematic reviews are indeterminate because they include insufficient RCTs whilst they reject large numbers of non-randomized controlled studies.

Sertraline as a treatment for PTSD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders. Methods to alleviate its symptoms range from 'talking therapies' to pharmaceutical interventions. Our objective was to carry out a systematic review of the effectiveness of sertraline, an SSRI, as a treatment for PTSD.