Medicine
-
Review Meta Analysis
Effects of Probiotics on Intestinal Mucosa Barrier in Patients With Colorectal Cancer after Operation: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Many studies have found that probiotics or synbiotics can be used in patients with diarrhea or inflammatory bowel disease for the prevention and treatment of some pathologies by improving gastrointestinal barrier function. However, there are few studies availing the use of probiotics in patients with colorectal cancer. To lay the foundation for the study of nutritional support in colorectal cancer patients, a meta-analysis has been carried out to assess the efficacy of probiotics on the intestinal mucosa barrier in patients with colorectal cancer after operation. ⋯ Significant effects were found in ratios of L/M (standardized mean difference = 3.83, P = 0.001) and B/E (standardized mean difference = 3.91, P = 0.000), occludin (standardized mean difference = 4.74, P = 0.000), bacterial translocation (standardized mean difference = 3.12, P = 0.002), and levels of SIgA (standardized mean difference = 2.91, P = 0.004) and CRP (standardized mean difference = 4.21, P = 0.000), but no significant effects were found for levels of IL-6 (standardized mean difference = 1.33, P = 0.184). Probiotics can effectively protect the intestinal mucosa physical and biological barrier in patients with colorectal cancer after operation. However, to evaluate the protective effect on intestinal mucosal barrier, further studies on the type and concentration of the probiotics, duration of therapy, and the therapeutic route are required.
-
Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Rehabilitation Management of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
The Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) causes significant muscular deficits in the affected patients, restricts daily activities (ADL), and involves a severe disability. Although the conservative intervention is the only treatment for the disease, there is no scientific evidence so far on rehabilitation treatment. Objectives of the review are: research the best literary evidence so far on the rehabilitation treatment of CMT; critically analyze the outcome, to build an evidence-based work protocol. ⋯ Eleven studies in total have been admitted to the final review phase; trials about physiotherapy CMT treatment (5), about orthosis treatment (6). Despite the wide range of outcomes and proposed interventions, the data points to the following: strength or endurance trainings improve functionality and ADLs of affected patients, while orthotic role is, at the moment, not completely clear. Physiotherapy treatment is a useful tool to manage CMT; more studies on a larger number of cases are needed to define orthosis utility and to establish the gold standard of the treatment.
-
Studies on associations between ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) polymorphisms and late radiotherapy-induced adverse events vary in clinical settings, and the results are inconsistent. We conducted the first meta-analysis following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to investigate the role of the ATM polymorphism rs1801516 in the development of radiotherapy-induced late fibrosis. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases to identify studies that investigated the effect of the ATM polymorphism rs1801516 on radiotherapy-induced late fibrosis before September 8, 2015. ⋯ This finding encouraged further researches to identify more genetic polymorphisms that were predictive for radiotherapy-induced adverse events. In addition, we showed that the inconsistency of the associations seen in these studies might be related to variations in the incidence of late fibrosis in the patients. This suggested that future studies should consider the incidence of radiotherapy-induced adverse events when investigating radiosensitivity signature genes.
-
Review Comparative Study
Comparing the Overall Result and Interaction in Aggregate Data Meta-Analysis and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.
The aim of the study was to examine how well aggregate data meta-analyses (ADMAs) and individual patient data meta-analyses (IPDMAs) agree in their overall results and how frequently interactions are detected in IPDMAs and ADMAs. ADMA articles immediately published before the IPDMA and matching the research topic were identified. Agreement in the overall result was achieved if the estimate was in the same direction. ⋯ The IPDMAs conducted 7 times more subgroup analyses on interaction (544 in IPDMAs vs 68 in ADMAs) and identified 14 times more potential interactions (44 in IPDMAs vs 3 in ADMAs). ADMAs will almost always agree with their corresponding IPDMAs in the overall result if greater efforts are made to improve the methodology in conducting ADMAs. The IPDMA is required mostly if interactions are suspected.
-
Malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are globally important public health concerns. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the prevalence of malaria and HIV co-infections in people living in endemic countries, and (ii) to assess the effect of co-infection on anemia. Studies were searched on electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Medline, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that the prevalence of malaria and HIV co-infection, particularly in pregnant women, requires special attention from healthcare personnel. Better understanding of the co-infection is crucial for designing treatment strategies. Future well-powered, prospective designs assessing the interaction between malaria and HIV are recommended.