Medicine
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Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder that may be managed with therapies like scalp electroacupuncture (SEA). The combination of SEA and medication could potentially offer a new approach for managing PD symptoms. The systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the combined impact of SEA and medication on PD through a comprehensive analysis of randomized clinical trials, focusing on outcomes like effective rate and various scores (total Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), UPDRS III, and Webster). ⋯ The intervention (SEA + medication) has shown significant effectiveness compared to the control (medication) in terms of the effective rate, total UPDRS, and UPDRS III in PD patients. However, it did not show a significant effect on the Webster score.
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Meta Analysis
Effects of cilostazol on cognitive function and dementia risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Cilostazol is an antiplatelet drug and is used for stroke prevention and symptomatic peripheral vascular disease. Studies have reported the effects of cilostazol on cognitive function, but the results are inconsistent and have not been systematically assessed. ⋯ These results suggest the potential for cilostazol treatment in the suppression of cognitive decline and prevention of progression to dementia. However, the lack of blinding in most studies is likely to cause an overestimation of the effect sizes, and further well-designed studies are also needed.
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Meta Analysis
Xuebijing and somatostatin against acute pancreatitis: A systematic review and network pharmacology.
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common pancreatic disease. Xuebijing injection (XBJ) combined with somatostatin in the treatment of AP is frequently used in clinical practice. There is, however, a lack of high-quality evidence-based evidence and network pharmacology to regard the therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological mechanisms. ⋯ The effectiveness of combination therapy of XBJ and somatostatin on AP is likely to be better than somatostatin. In addition, XBJ and somatostatin synergistically treated AP through a multi-pathway network.
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Meta Analysis
No need for hip precautions after total hip arthroplasty with posterior approach: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Nowadays, total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most successful procedures in the field of orthopedics and trauma. The posterior approach has historically been associated with a higher rate of hip dislocation. To reduce the rate of hip dislocation in the posterior approach, most orthopedic surgeons would recommend hip precautions (HP) for their patients postoperatively based on previous theories. However, recent randomized controlled trials have shown no significant difference in hip dislocation rates with or without HP, in contrast to previous theories. Based on these, this study conducted a meta-analysis of these randomized controlled trials to try to get qualitative conclusions. ⋯ THA with a posterior approach does not require hip precautions.
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Whether pembrolizumab alone or in combination with chemotherapy is superior to chemotherapy in metastatic cancer remains controversial. The study aims to give the effectiveness and safety of pembrolizumab-related interventions compared to chemotherapy in metastatic cancer. ⋯ Pembrolizumab alone or combined with chemotherapy indicates an effective and safe treatment for metastatic cancer. Pembrolizumab alone or combined with chemotherapy provides a better survival advantage under first-line treatment or programmed cell death ligand 1 combined positive scores of at least 10 or programmed cell death ligand 1 tumor proportion scores of at least 50%. However, we found that the specific efficacy of pembrolizumab in unused tumor types could not be effectively evaluated.