Plos One
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PRISMA statement was published in 2009 in order to set standards in the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of PRISMA endorsement on the quality of reporting and methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, published in journals in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology (GH). ⋯ The endorsement of PRISMA resulted in increase of both quality of reporting and methodological quality. It is advised that an increasing number of medical journals include PRISMA in the instructions for authors.
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Rational decision making on malaria control depends on an understanding of the epidemiological risks and control measures. National Malaria Control Programmes across Africa have access to a range of state-of-the-art malaria risk mapping products that might serve their decision-making needs. The use of cartography in planning malaria control has never been methodically reviewed. ⋯ The way information on the epidemiology of malaria is presented and used needs to be addressed to ensure evidence-based added value in planning control. The science on modelled impact of interventions must be integrated into new mapping products to allow a translation of risk into rational decision making for malaria control. As overseas and domestic funding diminishes, strategic planning will be necessary to guide appropriate financing for malaria control.
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The potential population-level impact of private-sector initiatives for tuberculosis (TB) case finding in Southeast Asia remains uncertain. In 2011, the Indus Hospital TB Control Program in Karachi, Pakistan, undertook an aggressive case-finding campaign that doubled notification rates, providing an opportunity to investigate potential population-level effects. ⋯ Sustained, multifaceted, and innovative approaches to TB case-finding in Asian megacities can have substantial community-wide epidemiological impact.
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The phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) was recently discovered as a target autoantigen in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). Published evidence suggests that the autoantibodies directed towards a conformation dependent epitope are currently effectively detected by a cell based assay (CBA) utilizing indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on tissue culture cells transfected with the PLA2R cDNA. Limitations of such IIF-CBA assays include observer dependent subjective evaluation of semi-quantitative test results and the protocols are not amenable to high throughput diagnostic testing. ⋯ These studies confirmed that inter-molecular epitope spreading occurs in IMN but use of the cognate synthetic peptides in immunoassays was unable to conclusively distinguish between IMN patients and normal controls. However, combinations of these peptides were able to effectively absorb anti-PLA2R reactivity in IIF-CBA and an immunoassay that employed a lysate derived from HEK cells tranfected with and overexpressing PLA2R. While we provide evidence of intermolecular epitope spreading, our data indicates that in addition to conformational epitopes, human anti-PLA2R reactivity in a commercially available CBA and an addressable laser bead immunoassay is significantly absorbed by peptides representing epitopes of PLA2R.
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Heterogeneity has a key role in meta-analysis methods and can greatly affect conclusions. However, true levels of heterogeneity are unknown and often researchers assume homogeneity. We aim to: a) investigate the prevalence of unobserved heterogeneity and the validity of the assumption of homogeneity; b) assess the performance of various meta-analysis methods; c) apply the findings to published meta-analyses. ⋯ When evidence for heterogeneity is lacking, standard practice is to assume homogeneity and apply a simpler fixed-effect meta-analysis. We find that assuming homogeneity often results in a misleading analysis, since heterogeneity is very likely present but undetected. Our new method represents a small improvement but the problem largely remains, especially for very small meta-analyses. One solution is to test the sensitivity of the meta-analysis conclusions to assumed moderate and large degrees of heterogeneity. Equally, whenever heterogeneity is detected, it should not be ignored.