Recently, France has conducted an independent review of their breast screening programme and the Steering Committee concluded that the programme should either be terminated or strongly reformed.

Researchers from the Nordic Cochrane Centre have reviewed animal studies for effects of long-term use of drugs against Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The findings show that long-term use may impair the reproductive system, with some studies showing delayed sexual maturation. There were a total of 17 studies available, published between 1975 and 2016, where 13 were rat trials.What are the long-term effects of ADHD medication on children? Do the benefits of the medication outweigh the harms in long-term use?

This year, two of our PhD students participating at the Global Evidence (GE) Summit in Cape Town, South Africa presented research from our Centre. The GE Summit is the first conference ever with a focus solely on evidence-based policy. The summit is aimed at everyone interested in evidence-based research, policy and practice and addressed serious health and social challenges using reliable research evidence.

A Cochrane systematic review on immediate-release methylphenidate for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was withdrawn from the Cochrane Library on 26 May 2016 after substantial criticism of its methods and flawed conclusions. Retraction of scientific papers on this basis is unusual but can be necessary. The withdrawn Cochrane review reflects, in many ways, a general inadequacy of clinical ADHD research, but the review authors failed to point out important flaws in the included trials.

Today, evidence-based medicine is facing multiple serious challenges. Some claim that EBM has been hijacked by vested interests. We see an emphasis on surrogate outcomes with uncertain clinical value, on statistically significant results with marginal clinical benefit, and even outright manipulation of data. Publication bias and selective outcome reporting presents huge challenges and there is a clear tendency to focus on benefits, and disregard harms of interventions.

Cochrane, a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health, is proud to announce its newest Associate Centre, Cochrane Sweden.The new Cochrane Sweden Centre is located in the city of Lund, and is affiliated with the Department of Research & Development / Section for HTA Analysis, Skåne University Hospital, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, and with the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen.

Women have been told for decades that they need to attend their routine breast screening appointments to detect early signs of breast cancer. However, a new major study, conducted by researchers at the Nordic Cochrane Centre in collaboration with researchers from Norway, looked into the effects of breast cancer screening programmes and have found a high risk of overdiagnosis and raise doubt about their benefits.

Cochrane podcasts deliver the latest Cochrane evidence in an easy to access audio format, allowing you to stay up to date on newly published reviews wherever you are.Each Cochrane podcast offers a short summary of a recent Cochrane review from the authors themselves. They have been recorded in 33 languages and are brief, allowing everyone from healthcare professionals to patients and families to hear the latest Cochrane evidence in under five minutes.