Cognitive health, and prevention of its decline to dementia, has risen in prominence with a corresponding exploration of modifiable risk factors to prevent a decline in cognitive health with age. This commentary discusses a new Cochrane review that examines the effect of vitamin and mineral supplementation in maintaining cognitive health in cognitively healthy adults in mid- and late-life. From a heterogeneous body of evidence, the quality of which ranged from very low to moderate, the review draws the conclusions of little or no benefit of supplements.

The legal decision on whether a defendant can fairly take part in a criminal trial in England and Wales is currently based on the leading case of R v Pritchard (1836), which despite subsequent case law updates does not embrace the concept of mental capacity or effectively identify defendants who are unable to meaningfully participate. Further to an extensive consultation process, the Law Commission published recommendations for reform in 2016, with a proposed new test of capacity to participate effectively in a trial and detailed suggestions for statutory reform of court procedures for managing defendants found unable to participate. Here we review the proposals and consider practical implications and suggestions regarding their implementation.

Psychiatric assessments of adults involved in care proceedings can play a critical role in assisting the family court to resolve proceedings justly. To properly carry out this role, the psychiatric expert should have an up-to-date understanding of the wider context within which they are working. This article outlines the legal framework of care proceedings in England and Wales and summarises the key aspects of the process. The duties of the expert and how the expert is engaged are explained. Finally, guidance is presented on how the expert should approach questions that are commonly raised in these proceedings.

Second-generation antipsychotic medications (SGAs) have advanced the treatment of schizophrenia over the past 30 years. However, a number of potentially life-threatening cardiac side-effects associated with these treatments concern and can discourage prescribers from administering these evidence-based treatments. This review provides a practical, psychiatrist-oriented understanding of the relative frequencies, mechanisms, investigations and treatments associated with these cardiac toxicities. We aim to highlight that these are relatively rare complications of an effective class of drug and to promote the advantages of early involvement of cardiologists in the psychiatric multidisciplinary team to guide the investigation and management of these conditions.

The private ownership of firearms for participation in shooting sports, subject to a rigorous process of certification by the police, is not uncommon in the UK. Primary care medical involvement in this process is currently a contentious issue. The mental health of firearms owners is clearly germane to public safety: suicide is by far the greatest concern, alongside security breaches. Homicide committed with legally held firearms is very rare: there is very little cross-over between legitimate shooting sports and crime involving firearms. The perpetrators of family annihilation and single-incident mass killings using firearms in the UK have not been known to psychiatry, although a minority have been found to be mentally disordered post hoc. Regarding suicidality, there is little if any difference between those at risk who own firearms and those who do not, excepting that firearm suicide attempts are highly likely to be fatal. Guidance is offered in this article on the identification of patients who own firearms, the evaluation of risks and how to manage these in practical terms.

Ann Mortimer's article on gun control and licensing in the UK makes some important points concerning the role of the psychiatrist during the licensing process and the complexities surrounding this. However, the risk-assessment framework (describing low, medium and high risk) that she proposes is problematic.

The principal manuals for psychiatric diagnosis have recently been updated (ICD-11 was released in June 2018 and DSM-5 was published in 2013). A common diagnostic quandary is the classification of people with chronic low mood, especially those with repeated self-harm (‘emotionally unstable’ or ‘borderline’ personality disorder). There has been a great interest in use of type II bipolar affective disorder (‘bipolar II disorder’) as a less pejorative diagnostic alternative to ‘personality disorder’, despite the radically different treatment options for these disorders. DSM-5 (but not ICD-11) clearly distinguishes between borderline personality disorder and bipolar II disorder, indicating that intense emotional experiences (such as anger, panic or despair; irritability; anxiety) should persist for only a few hours in people with a personality disorder. Both manuals now use the term ‘borderline personality disorder’ rather than ‘emotionally unstable personality disorder’. The diagnostic criteria for cyclothymic disorder remain confusing.

The classification of mood and personality disorders has become unnecessarily complicated. It has become bogged down by well-meaning but unhelpful subcategories that puzzle the will of clinicians to make useful judgements. The answer is to think of bipolar, depressive and personality disorders as each constituting a spectrum of severity and not to be too preoccupied with individual labels. It would also be useful to avoid the diagnostic chimera of borderline personality disorder, a condition that defies proper classification.

This reflection summarises the evidence regarding the management of bipolar II disorder in the perinatal period, compares this to the authors’ clinical experience using case studies and considers the treatment of patients in current clinical practice.