The clinical and demographic features of people of NESB referred to a memory clinic in Melbourne, Australia, differ from their ESB counterparts, with specific groups being under represented. This has implications for equity of assessment, service provision and utilisation for those of ethnically diverse backgrounds.

After switching from a conventional antipsychotic, olanzapine and risperidone were associated with improvement in core symptoms of schizophrenia and motor side effects. Subjects switched to olanzapine were more likely to complete the switching process and show an improvement in psychological QOL.

There is much caregiving literature describing factors that affect carer burden, and interventions that may be useful for carers of those with common dementias such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). By contrast, relatively little information and few data are available on potentially diverse issues facing carers of those with uncommon dementias, such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Huntington's disease (HD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) dementia. This paper highlights particular characteristics of caregiving for those with uncommon dementias, and the unique needs that may arise for this group of carers who often “fall between the net” of services and supports available. Further research into this area is required.

This 12-month review of referrals to an aged psychiatry community service found that nearly half were of elderly patients from NESB. The lower utilisation of the service by certain ethnic groups may reflect obstacles in their pathway to care. Alternatively, strong family networks, or a lower prevalence of mental illness in these elderly, may explain the findings in this report.

In the near future, aged psychiatry services will face increased numbers of patients and rising expectations. To best respond to these challenges, we need to have an understanding of current patient and service profiles. The findings of this study illustrate a range of patient, diagnostic and management variables in aged psychiatry practice. This information can be used for comparison with other services and in planning for future development of services.

Both drugs were well tolerated and their use was associated with fewer symptoms of schizophrenia and less adverse effects than were seen when the patients were taking a typical antipsychotic at baseline. Olanzapine appears to have particular benefit with regard to quality of life.

No abstract

The descriptive findings in this study suggest that psychosocial factors require further investigation in patients presenting with late-onset psychosis. Comparison with younger first-onset psychotic subjects will be the subject of a later report.