Complementary therapies in medicine
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Complement Ther Med · Jan 2021
ReviewMultiple sclerosis clinical practice guidelines provide few complementary and alternative medicine recommendations: A systematic review.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is prevalent among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), yet the quantity and quality of CAM recommendations in MS clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has not been assessed. The objective of this study was to determine the mention of CAM in MS CPGs and assess the quality of CAM recommendations. ⋯ CAM recommendations were only present in one third of all eligible CPGs. CPGs that scored highly can be used by patients and healthcare professionals as the basis for discussion about the use of CAM therapies for MS treatment/management. Although many people living with MS (PwMS) seek CAM therapies, few CPGs are available to provide guidance for clinicians and patients.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2020
Dry needling for the management of spasticity, pain, and range of movement in adults after stroke: A systematic review.
To summarise the available evidence about the effectiveness of deep dry needling (DN) on spasticity, pain-related outcomes, and range-of-movement (ROM) in adults after stroke. ⋯ The management of adults after stroke with DN may impact positively on spasticity, pain, and ROM. However, there was significant heterogeneity across trials in terms of sample size, control groups, treated muscles, and outcome measures, and a meta-analysis was not feasible. Further research should include proper blinding, sham placebo DN as control intervention, and investigate long-term effects.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2020
Meta AnalysisThe effect of melatonin supplementation on liver indices in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluated the effect of melatonin supplementation on liver enzymes in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and reported conflicting results. To meet these discrepancies, a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the eff ;ect of melatonin on liver indices in patients with NAFLD. To collect the required data, a thorough search was conducted through Web of science, Pubmed, Cochrane database, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Scopus databases. ⋯ Melatonin had no significant effect on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) regarding the overall effect size. Based on this meta-analysis, melatonin supplementation can improve liver indices. However, more RCTs are required with larger sample sizes and better control of confounding variables such as weight, body mass index, and gender to determine the effect of melatonin on patients with non-alcoholic fatty acid disease.
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Complement Ther Med · Jun 2020
Meta AnalysisThe effect of green coffee extract supplementation on anthropometric measures in adults: A comprehensive systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Two meta-analyses summarized data on the effects of green coffee extract (GCE) supplementation on anthropometric measures. However, the accuracy of those meta-analyses is uncertain due to several methodological limitations. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a comprehensive systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis to summarize all available evidence on the effects of GCE supplementation on anthropometric measures by considering the main limitations in the previous meta-analyses. ⋯ We found that GCE supplementation had a beneficial effect on body weight, BMI and WC. It provides a cost-effective and safe alternative for the treatment of obesity. Additional well-designed studies are required to further confirm our findings.
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Complement Ther Med · Jun 2020
Meta AnalysisPediatric tuina for the treatment of anorexia in children under 14 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Pediatric tuina is used to prevent and treat disease by employing various manipulative techniques on specific parts of the body, appropriate to the child's specific physiological and pathological characteristics. ⋯ Low certainty of evidence suggested pediatric tuina was beneficial and safe for the treatment of anorexia in children under 14 years. Furthermore well-designed RCTs with adequate sample sizes are needed.