News
Self-reporting sleep quality may underestimate sleep problems in dementia, study finds
People with cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or Lewy body disease may underestimate how disturbed their sleep is when asked to report it themselves. This sleep discrepancy (the gap between how well participants thought they slept and how they slept according to objective measurements) could have broader diagnostic value,…
Trial participation may offer benefits beyond medication for autistic adults, study finds
Autistic adults could be supported to start and continue taking an antidepressant or placebo medication within the context of a randomised controlled trial (RCT), according to new research supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Bristol. Participants in both the treatment and placebo groups of the STRATA…
Inflammation and mental health
In this blog post, originally written for and published by the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Éimear Foley discusses new results from a pilot trial of anti-inflammatory treatment for depression. Think back to the last time you had a cold or flu. Alongside a runny…
Pilot trial suggests anti-inflammatory drug could help difficult-to-treat depression
Immunotherapy could be a promising new treatment option for patients with difficult-to-treat depression. This is a key finding from a University of Bristol-led pilot randomised controlled clinical trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry today [20 May]. Researchers investigated, for the first time, whether tocilizumab, an existing anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to…
Understanding mental health care across the whole system through linked data
Mental health records from a major trust in the South West are to be linked to other datasets to unlock new research, thanks to a new project. It has historically been difficult to make use of routinely collected mental health for research. Data about mental health is amongst the most…
Review finds lack of risk calculators to predict long-term depression and anxiety
There are very few risk calculators to predict how symptoms of anxiety and depression will change over the course of a person’s life, according to a recent review of past research. This is the first systematic review of risk calculators for forecasting depression and anxiety over the course of life.
New study highlights the challenges of eating out for young people with eating disorders
A new study describes the challenges young people with eating disorders face when eating out. The research team, which includes Bristol BRC researchers, have published their findings in the Journal of Eating Disorders. Many people with an eating disorder find it difficult to eat in social settings…
Researcher and GBBO finalist team up to explain Bristol BRC project in cake form
Bristol Biomedical Research Centre researcher Lavinia Paternoster has teamed up with Great British Bake Off 2023 finalist Josh Smalley to bring a research project to life through the medium of cake. The pair baked vanilla cupcakes with passionfruit curd to explain Lavinia’s Medical Research Foundation funded project…
Using genetic data to pinpoint the causes of medication side-effects
From weight-gain to low white blood cell count, side-effects are the main reason people stop taking antipsychotic medication. The biological mechanisms causing these side-effects have been revealed in a new, ground-breaking study. The research, published in PLOS Genetics, was led by University of…