Background: The 'Hawthorne Effect' may be an important factor affecting the generalisability of clinical research to routine practice, but has been little studied. Hawthorne Effects have been reported in previous clinical trials in dementia but to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to quantify them. Our aim was to compare minimal follow-up to intensive follow-up in participants in a placebo controlled trial of Ginkgo biloba for treating mild-moderate dementia.

because of the heterogeneity in the data these findings should be interpreted with caution. However, there is some evidence to suggest that limited alcohol intake in earlier adult life may be protective against incident dementia later.

Background: Nicotine may aid reaction time, learning and memory, but smoking increases cardiovascular risk. Cardiovascular risk factors have been linked to increased risk of dementia. A previous meta-analysis found that current smokers were at higher risk of subsequent dementia, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and cognitive decline.

Awareness of mental health issues for gay men and lesbians should become a standard part of training for mental health professionals, who need to be aware of the potential for substance misuse and self-harm in this group and of the discrimination experienced by many lesbians.

No abstract

Gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women have high levels of mental disorder, possibly linked with discrimination.

This study found that regular simple exercise does not appear to improve the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, but did seem to attenuate caregiver burden. Further study to improve exercise uptake are needed.

Contrary to previous findings, we found no evidence that two weeks of exogenous melatonin is effective in improving sleep in people with dementia, although possible benefits of melatonin following longer periods of administration cannot be discounted.