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Objective: We evaluated the presence and impact of unblinding during the influential Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00006286). Method: Our analysis was part of a Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials reanalysis. Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study trialled fluoxetine, placebo, cognitive behaviour therapy or their combination, in treating adolescents with major depressive disorder. We analysed the accuracy of guesses of fluoxetine or placebo allocation, and their effects on change in Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised at 12 weeks. Results: Of 221 participants allocated to fluoxetine or placebo, 151 adolescents (68%) had their guess about pill-treatment-arm allocation recorded at week 6, and guesses were recorded for 154 independent evaluators, 159 parents and 164 pharmacotherapists. All of these groups guessed treatment allocation more accurately than would be expected by chance (60–66% accuracy; all p -values ⩽ 0.004). Guesses did not become more accurate between 6 and 12 weeks and were not predicted by adverse events, though event documentation was poor. Treatment guess had a substantial and statistically significant effect on outcome (Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised change mean difference 9.12 [4.69; 13.55], β = 0.334, p < 0.001), but actual treatment arm did not (1.53 [−2.83; 5.89], β = 0.056, p = 0.489). Removing guess from the analysis increased the apparent effect of treatment arm, making it almost statistically significant at the conventional alpha-level of 0.05 (p = 0.06). Conclusions: For Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study, treatment guesses strongly predicted outcomes and may have led to the exaggeration of drug effectiveness in the absence of actual effects. The integrity of double-blinding in trials should be routinely assessed and reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Neglect of older people is common and may result in fatal and nonfatal outcomes. Normal changes of aging and disease-related symptoms may overlap with markers of neglect and lead to under-detection. This review aims to delineate medical, psychiatric, and pathophysiological indicators in the victim—identified in forensic case reports—to point out areas of overlap and raise awareness in Health Care Professionals. Research Design and Methods Medical and forensic databases were searched with the search terms: neglect, elder, elderly, forensic, homicide for detailed case reports on elder neglect. Cases were reviewed as to victim age, sex, medical/psychiatric diagnosis, perpetrator, victim-to-perpetrator relationship, cause of death (if fatal), location of incident, autopsy findings (if fatal), and ancillary studies. A total of 168 publications were retrieved, of these 11 publications, containing a total of 25 cases, yielded sufficient detail on each case to be included in the qualitative analysis. Results Neglect is associated with poor physical, psychological, and mental health. Neglect can be a direct cause of death or contribute to a fatal outcome by exacerbating existing conditions. Red flags of neglect included malnutrition, dehydration, poor hygiene, untreated decubitus ulcers, hypothermia, contractures, and an uncooperative caregiver. However, incontrovertible evidence of neglect is not always easy to obtain due to age and disease-related changes. Discussion and Implications The findings document the extent and seriousness of elder neglect and highlight the importance of detailed documentation as well as collaboration between clinicians, allied health professionals, law enforcement and medical forensic services to improve patient outcomes and reduce the risk of further incidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing interest from the medical profession in aging and retirement, we know little about effects of gender, marital status, and cohort on aging within the profession. We surveyed 1,048 Australian doctors from "younger" (55-64) and "older" (65-89) cohorts, investigating gender and marital effects on perceptions of successful aging, career, and retirement intent. Women intend to retire earlier. Younger cohort and married women more frequently viewed their career as a calling, while women in general, and single women more frequently, endorsed personal successful aging more than men. Broader understanding of the different experiences of aging for men and women doctors is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]