Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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To estimate the short-term efficacy and toxicity of methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ Twenty-two percent of people on MTX withdrew due to adverse effects compared to seven percent of the placebo group. MTX has a substantial clinically and statistically significant benefit in the short term treatment of patients with RA.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewLow-molecular-weight heparins or heparinoids versus standard unfractionated heparin for acute ischaemic stroke.
Low molecular weight heparins and heparinoids may be associated with lower risks of haemorrhage and more powerful antithrombotic effects than standard unfractionated heparin. ⋯ Low molecular weight heparin or heparinoid appear to decrease the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis compared to standard unfractionated heparin, but there are too few data to provide reliable information on their effect on other important outcomes, including death and intracranial haemorrhage.
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Chlorpromazine, formulated in the 1950s, remains a benchmark treatment for those with schizophrenia. ⋯ This review will confirm much that clinicians and recipients of care already know but provides quantification to support clinical impression. Despite the humbling 40% improvement rate in those who were allocated to placebo, chlorpromazine's global position as the 'benchmark' treatment of those with psychoses is not threatened by this review. Chlorpromazine, in common use for nearly half a century, is a well established but imperfect treatment. Judicious use of this best available evidence should lead to better informed decisions both by carers and those with psychotic illnesses.
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Artemisinin derivatives are a relatively new group of drugs with antimalarial properties. As resistance to other antimalarial drugs continues to increase, artemisinin drugs may be useful alternatives. ⋯ The evidence suggests that artemisinin drugs are effective and safe for treating uncomplicated malaria. There is no evidence from randomised trials that one artemisinin derivative is better than the others. In areas where there is mefloquine resistance, combination therapy with an artemisinin derivative appears to improve sustained parasite clearance compared with either drug alone.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewPramipexole for levodopa-induced complications in Parkinson's disease.
To compare the efficacy and safety of adjuvant pramipexole therapy versus inactive placebo in patients with Parkinson's disease, already established on levodopa. ⋯ Pramipexole can be used to reduce off time, improve motor impairments and disability and reduce levodopa dose at the expense of increased dyskinetic adverse events. This conclusion is based on short and medium term trials (up to 24 weeks). Further trials are required to directly compare the newer with the older dopamine agonists.