Trending Articles
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Meta Analysis
Causal relationships between epilepsy and the microstructure of the white matter: A Mendelian randomization study.
To examine the causal bidirectional relationships between epilepsy and microstructural changes in the white matter (WM). A genome-wide association study meta-analysis of the International League Against Epilepsy Consortium on Epilepsy and 360 WM imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs) from the UK Biobank was used for the analysis. Genetic correlation analyses were conducted based on summary statistics of various "IDP-epilepsy" pairs for 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the causal relationships. ⋯ In the reverse analysis, seizures from all epilepsy types changed 5 WM IDPs, whereas seizures from juvenile myoclonic epilepsy altered 11 WM IDPs (q value < 0.05). This study revealed causal associations between changes in the WM microstructure and epilepsy subtypes. These findings offer new directions for early prevention and treatment of epilepsy.
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Review Meta Analysis
Overweight, obesity and adiposity in survivors of childhood brain tumours: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Survivors of childhood brain tumours (SCBT) have increased cardiometabolic risks, but the determinants of these risks are unclear. This systematic review aims to compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity as well as adiposity measures between SCBT and non-cancer controls. The PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library databases were searched. ⋯ We also found that SCBT have higher percent fat mass (mean difference 4.1%, 95% CI 2.0-6.1), waist-to-hip ratio (mean difference 0.07, 95% CI 0.02-0.13) and waist-to-height ratio (mean difference 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.10) than non-cancer controls. We conclude that SCBT have similar overweight and obesity distribution but higher adiposity than non-cancer controls. More studies were needed to explore the determinants of adiposity and its contribution to cardiometabolic outcomes in SCBT.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Compare the efficacy of acupuncture with drugs in the treatment of Bell's palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.
Bell's palsy or idiopathic facial paralysis is an acute facial paralysis caused by the inflammation of facial nerve. Several previous studies showed that acupuncture was beneficial in the treatment of facial paralysis. However, its effectiveness is still controversial compared with drug therapy. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture for Bell's palsy. ⋯ Although there was not enough evidence to prove its safety, acupuncture seems to be an effective therapy for Bell's palsy. Results of the present meta-analysis showed that acupuncture was associated with increased cure rate and total effective rate of the treatment of Bell's palsy in comparison with drugs. However, the results should be interpreted cautiously, because of the poor quality and heterogeneity of the included studies. In the future, more and more high quality randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed to prove the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture.
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Numerous treatment modalities have been attempted for masticatory muscle pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). To compare the treatment efficacy of more than 2 competing treatments, a network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted. ⋯ Based on the limited evidence of available trials, complementary therapy seemed to be slightly more effective than remaining treatment modalities for pain reduction in TMD patients with masticatory muscle pain. High-quality randomized controlled trials are expected to validate the findings.
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Numerous treatment modalities have been attempted for masticatory muscle pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). To compare the treatment efficacy of more than 2 competing treatments, a network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted. ⋯ Based on the limited evidence of available trials, complementary therapy seemed to be slightly more effective than remaining treatment modalities for pain reduction in TMD patients with masticatory muscle pain. High-quality randomized controlled trials are expected to validate the findings.