The parents of children with anorexia nervosa perceive the condition to be chronic and disabling. A qualitative study of carers found that most blame themselves for contributing to the illness and think they are helpless in promoting recovery. The parents interviewed displayed predictably stereo-typical responses, with mothers being emotional and fathers producing a more cognitive and detached account. The authors say that training parents to look at and react to the situation differently could result in better outcomes for the child (British Journal of Psychiatry 2005;187: 444-9).

Long term use of antiepileptic drugs is said to be associated with osteoporosis, but most studies have failed to use adequate controls. A study in twins and siblings, in which one of each pair had taken antiepileptic drugs for more than 12 months, confirms the findings. Patients who had taken antiepileptic drugs for more than two years, patients taking enzyme inducing drugs, and those over the age of 40 had significantly lower bone mineral density than controls at some sites at risk of fracture (Neurology 2005;65: 1358-65).

Continuous recordings of abdominal and foot skin temperatures of 27 healthy full term babies during the first two days of life show why it's important for babies to be physically close to their …