Prescribing off-label is well-entrenched in clinical practice — think atypical anti­psychotics for insomnia and antidepressants for back pain.

While authorities may frown on this practice, there’s no argument that both experimentation and serendipitous observations have, in some cases, advanced medicine.

A recent example is the realisation that a meningococcal B vaccine cross-protects against gonorrhoea, sparking renewed research on a vaccine against the STI.

And now there’s an intriguing discovery about the impact on mental health of medications commonly prescribed for physical ailments.