Medicine
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Comparative Study
Comparative efficacy of nonpharmaceutical therapy in the treatment of dysphagia after stroke: A protocol for systematic review.
Dysphagia is one of the major post-stroke complications that can severely damage a patient's quality of life. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that many kinds of nonpharmacological treatments can be used for post-stroke dysphagia. However, there is not enough evidence evaluating the effectiveness and safety of these interventions. This study will conduct a systematic review, and Bayesian network meta-analysis, of nonpharmacological treatments in order to provide evidence for a future study investigating more options for post-stroke dysphagia. ⋯ CRD42019119368.
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As development of society and change of modern life style, the prevalence of lumbar disc herniation (LDH) has been increasing. Being a major cause of low back pain, sciatica and radicular leg pain, LDH imposes a heavy burden on both individual and society. Because of high surgically intervene rate, non-invasive (non-surgical) treatments are recommended for most cases. Acupuncture has the advantages of low risk, good effect and low cost which has been proven that could alleviate pain while physical therapy plays a major role in the treatment of LDH in the vast majority of countries. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for LDH. ⋯ PROSPERO (registration number CRD42019148272).
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H-type hypertension is a kind of cardiovascular disease that threatens human life and health seriously. Banxia Baizhu Tianma Tang (BBTT) has been used widely for H-type hypertension while its effective evidence is not clear. Hence, we provide a systematic review protocol to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BBTT in the treatment of H-type hypertension. ⋯ PROSPERO CRD 42019131491.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer. Pathologic distinction between HCC and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and metastatic adenocarcinoma can be challenging and sometimes requires immunohistochemical panels. Recently, arginase-1 (ARG-1) has been introduced for differentiation of these tumors. ⋯ We hope that the results of this study will provide significant evidence to assess the value of ARG-1 in differential diagnosis of HCC, ICC, and metastatic carcinoma of liver.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder of the human motor system. Neuroinflammation appears to be an important modulator of disease progression in ALS. Specifically, reduction of regulatory T cell (Treg) levels, along with an increase in pro-inflammatory effector T cells, macrophage activation and upregulation of co-stimulatory pathways have all been associated with a rapid disease course in ALS. Autologous infusion of expanded Tregs into sporadic ALS patients, resulted in greater suppressive function, slowing of disease progression and stabilization of respiratory function. Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) increases the ratio of anti-inflammatory (Treg) to proinflammatory T-cells in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and rebalances the regulatory: inflammatory axis towards a neuroprotective phenotype. Consequently, the aim of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Tecfidera in sporadic ALS. ⋯ This Phase 2 multi-center, randomized, placebo controlled, double blind clinical trial will provide evidence of efficacy and safety of Tecfidera in sporadic ALS.