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Recently, a group of medical investigators have begun to wonder whether antibiotics might cause the same growth promotion in humans. New evidence shows that America's obesity epidemic may be connected to our high consumption of these drugs.

When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world - except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark. In this impassioned talk, Ben Goldacre explains why these unreported instances of negative data are especially misleading and dangerous.

Czech doctors are prescribing psycho-pharmaceutical drugs, such as antidepressants, to more and more children, treating the symptoms rather than the causes of their condition, the daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes Thursday

David Spiegelhalter's background is in medical statistics, particularly the use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials, health technology assessment and drug safety. In his post as Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk he leads a small team (UnderstandingUncertainty.org) that attempts to improve the way in which the quantitative aspects of risk and uncertainty are discussed in society. He gives many presentations to schools and others, advises organisations on risk communication, and is a regular newspaper columnist on current risk issues. He has also appeared on Winter Wipeout. He was elected FRS in 2005 and awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to medical statistics

To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn't know how to help her. Longden tells the moving tale of her years-long journey back to mental health, and makes the case that it was through learning to listen to her voices that she was able to survive

A dangerous new form of a powerful stimulant is hitting markets nationwide, for sale by the vial, the gallon and even the barrel. The drug is nicotine, in its potent, liquid form - extracted from tobacco and tinctured with a cocktail of flavorings, colorings and assorted chemicals to feed the fast-growing electronic cigarette industry.

How far should doctors go in attempting to cure addiction? In China, some physicians are taking the most extreme measures. By destroying parts of the brain's "pleasure centers" in heroin addicts and alcoholics, these neurosurgeons hope to stop drug cravings. But damaging the brain region involved in addictive desires risks permanently ending the entire spectrum of natural longings and emotions, including the ability to feel joy.

This video is part of the course Psychopharmacology Survey which is designed to help psychologists, family therapists, clinical social workers, substance abuse counselors and other mental health professionals develop a working knowledge of pharmacological agents and drug treatment strategies. For more info and to register go here: http://www.ce-psychology.com/psychoph...

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce symptoms of depression in people who fail to respond to drug treatment, says a study in the Lancet.

New insights into how selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors work suggest they reverse inhibited nerve regeneration and connectivity that may underlie depression

Twenty-five years after Prozac was introduced, the name has entered the cultural lexicon and helped define how people think of mental illness.