Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of a high-intensity exercise program on physical function and mental health in nursing home residents with dementia: an assessor blinded randomized controlled trial.
Dementia is among the leading causes of functional loss and disability in older adults. Research has demonstrated that nursing home patients without dementia can improve their function in activities of daily living, strength, balance and mental well being by physical exercise. The evidence on effect of physical exercise among nursing home patients with dementia is scarce and ambiguous. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a high intensity functional exercise program on the performance of balance in nursing home residents with dementia. The secondary objective was to examine the effect of this exercise on muscle strength, mobility, activities of daily living, quality of life and neuropsychiatric symptoms. ⋯ The results from our study indicate that a high intensity functional exercise program improved balance and muscle strength as well as reduced apathy in nursing home patients with dementia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Approach-Avoidance Training on the Extinction and Return of Fear Responses.
Exposure therapy for anxiety involves confronting a patient with fear-evoking stimuli, a procedure based partially on Pavlovian extinction. Exposure and other extinction-based therapies usually lead to (partial) reduction of fear symptoms, but a substantial number of patients experience a return of fear after treatment. Here we tested whether the combination of fear extinction with modification of approach-avoidance tendencies using an Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) would result in the further reduction of conditioned fear and/or help prevent return of fear after extinction. ⋯ Our results suggest that approach training may be of limited value for enhancing the short- and long-term effects of extinction-based interventions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Closed-loop control better than open-loop control of profofol TCI guided by BIS: a randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial to evaluate the CONCERT-CL closed-loop system.
The CONCERT-CL closed-loop infusion system designed by VERYARK Technology Co., Ltd. (Guangxi, China) is an innovation using TCI combined with closed-loop controlled intravenous anesthesia under the guide of BIS. In this study we performed a randomized, controlled, multicenter study to compare closed-loop control and open-loop control of propofol by using the CONCERT-CL closed-loop infusion system. ⋯ The CONCERT-CL closed-loop infusion system can automatically regulate the TCI of propofol, maintain the BIS value in an adequate range and reduce the workload of anesthesiologists better than open-loop system.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Can acupuncture treatment be double-blinded? An evaluation of double-blind acupuncture treatment of postoperative pain.
Blinding protects against bias but the success of blinding is seldom assessed and reported in clinical trials including studies of acupuncture where blinding represents a major challenge. Recently, needles with the potential for double-blinding were developed, so we tested if acupuncture can be double-blinded in a randomized study of sixty-seven patients with acute pain ≥ 3 (0-10 scale following third molar removal) who received active acupuncture with a penetrating needle or placebo acupuncture with a non-penetrating needle. To test if acupuncture was administered double-blind, patients and acupuncturists were asked about perceived treatment allocation at the end of the study. ⋯ In conclusion, acupuncture treatment was not fully double-blinded which is similar to observations in pharmacological studies. Still, the non-penetrating needle is the only needle that allows some degree of practitioner blinding. The study raises questions about alternatives to double-blind randomized clinical trials in the assessment of acupuncture treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effect of intravenous sodium valproate vs dexamethasone on acute migraine headache: a double blind randomized clinical trial.
Despite the impact of sodium valproate and dexamethasone on migraine headache, the efficacy of the two drugs has not been properly investigated and compared. This trial compared the effect of the two drugs on acute migraine headache. ⋯ This trial indicated that, in overall, intravenous sodium valproate is not superior to intravenous dexamethasone in treatment of acute migraine attacks. However, in patients with aura, only sodium valproate but not dexamethasone is effective in headache relief. This issue needs further investigations.