Self help books and websites can benefit severely depressed patients

Feb. 26, 2013 ? Patients with severe depression show at least as good clinical benefit from 'low-intensity' interventions, such as self help books and interactive websites, as less severely ill patients, according to new research by The University of Manchester.

Depression is a major cause of disability worldwide and effective management of this is a key challenge for health care systems.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), confirmed evidence that 'low-intensity' interventions provide significant clinical benefit. Initial severity of depression is one of the key variables determining who gets 'low' or 'high' intensity treatment, but this is largely based on epidemiological studies and clinical experience rather than high quality evidence.

Researchers from an international collaboration carrid out a meta-analysis of several studies involving 2470 patients with depression, all treated in a non-hospital setting. All studies were from the year 2000 or later with a sample size of more than 50 patients. The mean age in all studies was 35-45, and studies included patients with lower levels of depressive symptoms, as well as those with quite severe depression.

'Low-intensity' treatment was defined as interventions designed to help patients manage depressive symptoms such as self-help books or interactive websites, often with limited guidance and support from a health professional. Self-help groups were excluded.

The researchers found that patients with more severe depression at baseline derive "at least as good clinical benefit from 'low-intensity' interventions as less severely ill patients." They recommend including 'low-intensity' interventions in the first step of treating severely ill patients and encouraging the majority of patients to use them as the initial treatment option.

Professor Peter Bower, from The University of Manchester who led the research, said: "To better manage depression in the community, many services seek to provide simple forms of psychological therapy (so called 'low intensity' interventions) to depressed patients. We assessed whether more severely ill patients demonstrated better or worse treatment effects from 'low-intensity' treatments. We found no clinically meaningful differences in treatment effects between more and less severely ill patients receiving 'low-intensity' interventions. Patients with more severe depression can be offered 'low-intensity' treatments as part of a stepped care model."

The researchers also say that an important research question for the future is whether low-intensity treatments are cost-effective and if "initial experience with low intensity interventions could act as a barrier to further treatment."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Manchester.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Peter Bower et al. Influence of initial severity of depression on effectiveness of low intensity interventions: meta-analysis of individual patient data. BMJ, 2013; 346 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.f540

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/EpZw92v9ku4/130226194010.htm

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Fujitsu prototype GPS cane hands-on: the future of monitoring and protecting the elderly

Fujitsu's Stylistic S01 isn't the company's only attempt to cater to an older audience. It's also experimenting with a rather ingenius (and super glossy) take on the classic cane, that looks like something out of a sci-fi film. Inside the two-toned elliptical head-piece are a pile of electronics, including Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi and a cellular radio. And at the front of the grip is a small display, consisting of an array of multi-color LEDs. Those little bulbs light up, primarily in red or green, to communicate through simple pictographs. The primary function is to offer directions using the GPS. The LEDs tell you which way to head with simple green arrow animations and alert you to upcoming turns by flashing a red exclamation point. While we understand and appreciate the simplicity, the combination of relatively dim LEDs and the glossy design made it a bit difficult to make out direction under the harsh lights of the Fujitsu booth -- we can only imagine things would only get worse under a glaring mid-day sun.

This isn't just a dumbed-down guidance device, however. The GPS can also be used to track movement, while other sensors on board can monitor temperature, humidity and heart rate. There's a small pad at the top where you place your thumb to get a BPM readout. Should the heat get cranking and grandpa's heart rate start to climb, a loved one could set a destination for him remotely and lead him to the nearest place to cool off. Fujitsu reps said the current prototype is capable of lasting between two or three hours on a charge, though we imagine much longer battery life will be needed for it to become a practical, everyday solution. There's no telling if or when this futuristic walking stick will hit the market, but we wouldn't be surprised to see some form of it in the next year or two. Technology moves quick and the healthcare industry is one of the quickest growing markets for the cutting edge. If you'd like a glimpse of how the system might work, check out the video after the break.

Gallery: Fujitsu Arrows V F-04E hands-on

Sean Cooper contributed to this report.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/oHNA-CHT-xU/

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Smartphones Growth Reshapes Cellphone Chip Market Order: IHS ...

(By Balaseshan) Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Samsung are capitalizing on the rise of smartphones and 4G due to the changes in the cellphone core integrated circuit (IC) business over the past five years, according to a report from information and analytics provider IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS).

Qualcomm in 2012 reigned supreme with 31% market revenue share in application-specific mobile handset core ICs market like baseband and radio-frequency semiconductors, according to the IHS iSuppli Wireless Competitive Landscape Tool.

The San Diego-based chip maker has held the top position since 2007 and even enlarged its lead by 8 percentage points during the period. South Korea's Samsung Electronics was the No. 2 vendor after Qualcomm, with a 21% share, after not even ranking in in the Top 10 in 2007.

IHS iSuppli said both the companies accounted for more than half of the total market, with the next eight vendors in the Top 10 accounting for another 34 percentage points of share. The Top 10 enjoyed a collective 86% share of the market.

The other vendors among the leaders were, in descending order, MediaTek, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN), ST-Ericsson, Renesas, Spreadtrum (NASDAQ: SPRD" title="SPRD : Stock Quote, News and Research" class="showrtquote">SPRD) and Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM).

"The arrival of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone five years ago changed the game and paved the way for the current market rankings. This change is dramatically illustrated by looking at the major differences in the cellphone core IC rankings from 2007 to 2012," said Brad Shaffer, analyst for consumer & communications at IHS.

While Qualcomm increased its lead at the top from 2007 to 2012, Texas fell from second to sixth place?down from a 20% share to 4%. TI's proprietary OMAP product line of chips for portable and mobile multimedia applications has not taken off as quickly as expected, and the company as a result could not offset its planned exit from baseband products, IHS iSuppli noted.

IHS said the structure of the mobile handset core IC market will continue to shift, particularly as LTE becomes more widespread. Baseband chips, already accounting for more than half the revenue of the total handset core IC space, will maintain their pre-eminence in determining the market-share gains and losses of industry vendors moving forward, IHS believes.

Source: http://www.istockanalyst.com/finance/story/6310505/smartphones-growth-reshapes-cellphone-chip-market-order-ihs

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Out: Karzai bans US special forces from key province

A statement from Afghanistan's National Security Council said that Afghans working with US forces have allegedly been 'harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people.'

By Patrick Quinn,?Associated Press / February 24, 2013

Afghanistan presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday. Afghanistan's president says all US special forces must leave eastern Wardak province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans.

Ahmad Nazar/AP

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Afghanistan's?president on Sunday ordered all US special forces to leave a strategically important eastern province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans.

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The decision seems to have caught the coalition and US Forces?Afghanistan, a separate command, by surprise. Americans have frequently drawn anger from the Afghan public over issues ranging from Qurans burned at a US base to allegations of civilian killings.

"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," the US forces said in a statement.

Also Sunday, a series of attacks in eastern?Afghanistan?showed insurgents remain on the offensive even as US and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.

Suicide bombers targeted?Afghanistan's?intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.

Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said the decision to order the American special forces to leave Wardak province was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council because of the alleged actions of Afghans who are considered linked to the US special forces.

A key province

He said all special forces operations were to cease immediately in the restive province next to Kabul, which is viewed as a gateway to the capital and has been the focus of counterinsurgency efforts in recent years.

The Taliban have staged numerous attacks against US-led coalition forces in the province. In August 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Wardak. The crash was the single deadliest loss for US forces in the war.

Afghan forces have taken the lead in many such special operations, especially so-called night raids.

"Those Afghans in these armed groups who are working with the US special forces, the defense minister asked for an explanation of who they are," Faizi said. "Those individuals should be handed over to the Afghan side so that we can further investigate."

A statement the security council issued in English said the armed individuals have allegedly been "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."

Ceasing all such operations could have a negative impact on the coalition's campaign to go after Taliban leaders and commanders, who are usually the target of such operations.

Coalition notified?

Faizi said the issue had already been brought up with the coalition.

The US statement said only that the announcement was "an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts. But until we have had a chance to speak with senior Government of the Islamic Republic of?Afghanistan?officials about this issue, we are not in a position to comment further."

The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as US and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.

The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise ??a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.

Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.

A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.

Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Pul-i-Alam on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.

Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.

*?Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt, Rahim Faiez and Kim Gamel contributed to this report from Kabul.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Weie7HL2Ofw/Out-Karzai-bans-US-special-forces-from-key-province

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Beckham on PSG's squad to face Marseille on Sunday

PARIS (AP) ? David Beckham could make his debut Sunday with Paris Saint-Germain when the team faces rival Marseille.

The 37-year-old former England captain has not played since making his last appearance for Los Angeles Galaxy on Dec. 1. He's stepped up his training for the game at Parc des Princes on Sunday.

"Maybe he'll start, because he's fit to start," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said at a news conference on Saturday. "If he starts, he'll play in central midfield."

PSG leads second-place Lyon by three points and third-place Marseille by five heading into the matches.

Beckham is looking to win championships in four different countries, after titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the LA Galaxy.

He also could play in the French Cup game Wednesday at home against Marseille.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-23-SOC-PSG-Beckham/id-4cbb4f22bafc4fc88ec0bc5bafcff34a

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Bishop from Malta Shows Respect for Lesbian and Gay Couples

In what seems to becoming a trend in Europe of slight affirmation of gay and lesbian relationships, an auxiliary bishop from Malta recently reprimanded a Catholic who negatively characterized those relationships as based on lust.

PinkNews.co.uk reports:

?Malta?s Auxiliary Bishop, Charles Scicluna, has stepped in to condemn a provocative letter written by zealous Catholic churchgoer Joe Zammit who claims there can only be lust and not love between gay people.

?Bishop?Scicluna told the Sunday Times of Malta: ?Joe Zammit has managed to do a great disservice to the Catholic ethos by presenting a caricature of the Church?s teaching on gay relationships.? ?

Bishops Scicluna did not endorse marriage between gay and lesbian couples, but his comments reflect a new awareness on the part of some bishops in expressing respect and positive regard for gay and lesbian relationships:

?Bishop Scicluna maintained that ?Gay people are not called to marriage which is the permanent union between one man and one woman open to the gift of parenthood,? but then added, ?they are indeed called to chaste friendship and chaste friendship is chaste love.?

? ?To say, as Mr Zammit keeps harping, that ?there can never be love but only lust between homosexuals? is to deny the truth of what the Church teaches.? . . .

?Bishop?Scicluna felt compelled to step in and dismissed Mr Zammit?s comments saying his opinion ?does not represent the teachings of the Church.? ?

Bishop Scicluna joins the French bishops, British Bishops, and a Vatican official who recently made similar comments regarding respect for gay and lesbian couples.

Let?s hope and pray that American bishops will soon follow suit. ??

It will be a giant step forward if bishops can refrain from their inaccurate rhetoric which unilaterally disparages gay and lesbian couples.

Source: http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2013/02/bishop-from-malta-shows-respect-for.html

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