British medical bulletin
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British medical bulletin · Jun 2015
ReviewAutoimmune hepatitis: an approach to disease understanding and management.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic immune-mediated liver injury, frequently associated with progression to end-stage liver disease if untreated. Patients commonly present with hepatitis, positive immune serology, elevated immunoglobulins and compatible liver histology, in the absence of an alternative aetiology. ⋯ Increased understanding of the immunoregulatory mechanisms behind autoimmune hepatitis has led to opportunities for new therapies. These are developed including a discussion of timely research studies relevant to future therapies for patients.
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Biobanking refers to the infrastructure, policies and practices involved in collecting, processing, storing and disseminating biological samples. Biospecimen methods research to support biobanking through evidence-based practices is now recognized as critical to the success of biobanking and translational research. ⋯ Additional biospecimen methods research leading to the development of evidence-based practices is critical to translational research and personalized medicine.
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Women now outnumber men in British medical schools. This paper charts the history of women in medicine and provides current demographic trends. ⋯ Further research is needed to explore the cost-effectiveness of existing and future interventions in this field.
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Antipsychotic medications are mainstays in the treatment of schizophrenia and a range of other psychotic disorders. ⋯ A focus on the different symptom domains of schizophrenia may lead to endophenotypic markers being identified, e.g. for negative symptoms and cognitive deficits (as well as for positive symptoms) that can promote the development of novel therapeutics, which will rationally target cellular and molecular targets, rather than just the dopamine 2 receptor. Future developments will target additional processes, including glutamatergic, cholinergic and cannabinoid receptor targets and will utilize personalized medicine techniques, such as pharmacogenetic variants and biomarkers allowing for a tailored and safer use of antipsychotics.
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British medical bulletin · Mar 2015
ReviewPharmacological interventions for the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Several pharmacological interventions have been proposed for the management of Achilles tendinopathy, with no agreement on which is the overall best option available. This systematic review investigates the efficacy and safety of different local pharmacological treatments for Achilles tendinopathy. ⋯ There is a need for more long-term investigations, studying large enough cohort with standardized scores and evaluations shared by all the investigations to confirm the healing potential, and provide a stronger statistical comparison of the available treatments.