Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in chronically ill children

Osteoporosis secondary to chronic disease in children has emerged as a major health issue. As the severity of a child's illness increases, so too does the number of factors affecting their bone health. Determinants of bone health in children include level of mobility, exposure to osteotoxic medication, nutritional status, calcium and vitamin D intake, chronic inflammation and pubertal development.     

Caring for mentally ill people.

Despite legislation to harmonise mental health practice throughout Europe and convergence in systems of training there remains an extraordinary diversity in psychiatric practice in Europe. Approaches to tackling substance misuse vary among nations; statistics on psychiatric morbidity are affected by different approaches to diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders; attitudes towards mental illness show definite international differences. Everywhere, though, mental health care for patients with psychotic illnesses is a "cinderella service," and there is a general move towards care falling increasingly on the family and the community.