There are no available medications for the management of alcohol dependence for patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD).

To conduct a multisite, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial of baclofen in the treatment of alcohol dependence, with or without liver disease (trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01711125).

Patients (n = 104) were randomised to placebo, baclofen 30 mg/day or 75 mg/day for 12 weeks. Primary outcomes included survival time to lapse (any drinking), relapse (≥5 drinks per day in men and ≥4 in women), and the composite outcome of drinks per drinking day, number of heavy drinking days, and percentage days abstinent.

There was a significant effect of baclofen (composite groups) on time to lapse (χ2 = 6.44, P<0.05, Cohen's d = 0.56) and relapse (χ2 = 4.62, P<0.05, d = 0.52). A significant treatment effect of baclofen was observed for percentage days abstinent (placebo 43%, baclofen 30 mg 69%, baclofen 75 mg 65%; P<0.05). There was one serious adverse event (overdose) directly related to medication (75 mg).

Baclofen may be an effective treatment option for patients with ALD. However, given the profile of adverse events, the role for this medication might be best limited to specialist services.

None.

Autism research has previously focused on either identifying a latent dimension or searching for subgroups. Research assessing the concurrently categorical and dimensional nature of autism is needed.

To investigate the latent structure of autism and identify meaningful subgroups in a sample spanning the full spectrum of genetic vulnerability.

Factor mixture models were applied to data on empathy, systemising and autistic traits from individuals on the autism spectrum, parents and general population controls.

A two-factor three-class model was identified, with two factors measuring empathy and systemising. Class one had high systemising and low empathy scores and primarily consisted of individuals with autism. Mainly comprising controls and parents, class three displayed high empathy scores and lower systemising scores, and class two showed balanced scores on both measures of systemising and empathy.

Autism is best understood as a dimensional construct, but meaningful subgroups can be identified based on empathy, systemising and autistic traits.

Self-help for social phobia has not received controlled empirical evaluation.

To evaluate the efficacy of pure self-help through written materials for severe social phobia and self-help augmented by five group sessions with a therapist. These conditions were compared with a waiting-list control and standard, therapist-led group therapy.

Participants with severe generalised social phobia (n=224) were randomised to one of four conditions. Assessment included diagnoses, symptoms and life interference at pretreatment, 12 weeks and at 24 weeks.

A larger percentage of patients no longer had a diagnosis of social phobia at post-intervention in the pure self-help group than in the waiting-list group, although this percentage decreased slightly over the next 3 months. Symptoms of social anxiety and life interference did not differ significantly between these groups. Augmented self-help was better than waiting list on all measures and did not differ significantly from group treatment.

Self-help augmented by therapist assistance shows promise as a less resource-intensive method for the management of social phobia. Pure self-help shows limited efficacy for this disorder.

A short self-report questionnaire was developed to assess dependence on benzodiazepines (BZDs), the Benzodiazepine Dependence Questionnaire (BDEPQ). The BDEPQ is the first scale to assess dependence on BZDs comprehensively, as all existing scales focus exclusively on withdrawal symptoms.

To evaluate its internal consistency and construct validity, 302 regular BZD users were recruited from media advertisements and assessed on a number of measures. The BDEPQ was compared with measures of depression, anxiety, sleep quality, BZD withdrawal symptoms and neuroticism to assess its construct validity. A 3–4 month follow-up was conducted to assess the ability of the BDEPQ to predict changes in BZD consumption and future BZD withdrawal.

The BDEPQ was found to have high internal consistency and to be relatively stable over the follow-up period. Three subscales were identified, each with good internal consistency and temporal stability. The BDEPQ was able to predict the severity of withdrawal symptoms.

The BDEPQ was found to be a reliable and valid self-report instrument for the assessment of BZD dependence in samples approximating the general population of people using BZDs.