As biomedical cognitive enhancement becomes more popular in competitive contexts such as schools, teachers and administrators will face new challenges related to cognitive enhancement and cognitively enhanced students. In this dissertation, I identify five of the most pressing ethical challenges presented by cognitively enhanced students in a…

Estimating prescription medicine use is challenging due to recall bias associated with surveys and coverage bias in administrative data. This study assesses how making operational improvements and combining both survey and administrative data sources can increase data quality on filled prescriptions. We use data from the Medicare Current…

Objective: To examine the effects of triple beaded mixed amphetamine salts (TB MAS) on ADHD and executive dysfunction symptoms throughout the day in adults with DSM-5 ADHD. Method: This was a 6 week, single-blind, placebo-lead in trial of TB MAS (12.5-37.5 mg/day); all participants received 2 weeks of single-blind placebo); one individual was a…

Aggressive and violent behaviour is a challenging psychiatric emergency to manage, especially among vulnerable categories such as patients with Intellectual Developmental Disorder. Although there is some evidence that clozapine may be useful as an anti-violence compound, its use is limited by common metabolic complications. An adult patient…

The adult population in the United States is more physically active and are living longer than prior generations. Due to the advancement in surgical techniques and the increased number of active people, there has been a rise in the number of hip and knee replacement surgeries. This rise in the number of surgeries is expected to continue.…

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is a serious medical disease and the main cause of cardiovascular diseases and premature death worldwide. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of online mindfulness-based stress reduction (OMBSR) on systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) in…

Background: Adults with intellectual disability are at higher risk of being administered psychotropic medications. The UK-developed SPECTROM (Short-term PsychoEducation for Carers To Reduce Over Medication of people with intellectual disabilities) training programme educates disability support workers on psychotropic medications and alternatives…

We examine the cost-effectiveness of treating epilepsy with anti-epileptic medicines in autistic children, looking at impacts on healthcare providers (in England, Ireland, Italy and Spain) and children's families (in Ireland). We find carbamazepine to be the most cost-effective drug to try first in children with newly diagnosed focal seizures. For…

Objective: This study aimed to compare the approval of medicines for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for pediatric patients across five countries. Method: A document analysis was completed, using the drug labeling for ADHD medicines from five countries; United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United States (US).…

Background: Research examining the potential effects of stimulant exposure in childhood on subsequent development of substance use disorder (SUD) have focused on differences in the brain reward system as a function of risk. Methods: 18 drug naïve children ages 7 to 12 years (11 High Risk [ADHD + ODD/CD]; 7 Low Risk [ADHD only]), underwent fMRI…

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of nursing interventions applied to elderly individuals to improve rational use of medicines (RUM) and awareness through home visits. It was carried out in a prospective, randomized controlled experimental design with the pretest-post-test control group. The study was completed with 74 elderly…

During drug development, evidence can emerge to suggest a treatment is more effective in a specific patient subgroup. Whilst early trials may be conducted in biomarker-mixed populations, later trials are more likely to enroll biomarker-positive patients alone, thus leading to trials of the same treatment investigated in different populations. When…

The objective of this meta-epidemiological study was to explore the impact of attrition rates on treatment effect estimates in randomised trials of chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) treated with biological and targeted synthetic disease-modifying drugs. We sampled trials from Cochrane reviews. Attrition rates and primary endpoint results were…

Immunosuppressive therapy is vital for the success of a kidney transplant, yet it entails potential risks and side effects. The challenge lies in finding the right balance between suppressing the immune response enough to prevent rejection while minimizing the risk of infections, organ toxicity, and other complications associated with long-term…

Prolonged dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) may increase propensity for physical or psychiatric illness. The current study examined differences in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) regulation in 215 adolescents with or without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at Time 1 (T1; 10-13 years old) and 1 year later (Time 2; T2). Linear…