Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2010
ReviewVitamin D for the treatment of chronic painful conditions in adults.
Vitamin D is produced in the skin after sun-light exposure and can also be obtained through food. Vitamin D deficiency has recently been linked with a range of diseases including chronic pain. Observational and circumstantial evidence suggests that there may be a role for vitamin D deficiency in the aetiology of chronic pain conditions. ⋯ The evidence base for the use of vitamin D for chronic pain in adults is poor at present. This is due to low quality and insufficient randomised controlled trials in this area of research.
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Uterine fibroids (UFs) are benign growths within the uterine muscle and are present in 30% of women during their reproductive years. With the exception of hysterectomy, there are no effective medical and surgical treatments for women with uterine fibroids . Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese method which has been used for both the prevention and treatment of diseases for over three thousand years. There are many types of acupuncture used to manage UFs, with body acupuncture being the most commonly used. The literature reporting the benefits or harms of acupuncture for the management of UFs has not yet been systematically reviewed. ⋯ The effectiveness of acupuncture for the management of uterine fibroids remains uncertain. More evidence is required to establish the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for uterine fibroids.There is a continued need for well designed RCTs with long term follow up.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2010
Review Meta AnalysisAmisulpride versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia.
In many countries of the industrialised world second generation (atypical) antipsychotics have become first line drug treatments for people with schizophrenia. The question as to whether, and if so how much, the effects of the various second generation antipsychotics differ is a matter of debate. In this review we examine how the efficacy and tolerability of amisulpride differs from that of other second generation antipsychotics. ⋯ There is little randomised evidence comparing amisulpride with other second generation antipsychotic drugs. We could only find trials comparing amisulpride with olanzapine, risperidone and ziprasidone. We found amisulpride may be somewhat more effective than ziprasidone, and more tolerable in terms of weight gain and other associated problems than olanzapine and risperidone. These data, however, are based on only ten short to medium term studies and therefore too limited to allow for firm conclusions.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2010
Review Meta AnalysisNutritional supplementation for hip fracture aftercare in older people.
Older people with hip fractures are often malnourished at the time of fracture, and have poor food intake subsequently. ⋯ Weak evidence exists for the effectiveness of protein and energy feeds. Adequately sized randomised trials with robust methodology are required. In particular, the role of dietetic assistants, and peripheral venous feeding require further evaluation.
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Golimumab is a humanized inhibitor of Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ⋯ With an overall high grade of evidence, at the FDA-approved dose, golimumab is significantly more efficacious than placebo in treatment of patients with active RA , when used in combination with methotrexate. The short-term safety profile, based on short-term RCTs, is reasonable with no differences in total adverse events, serious infections, cancer, tuberculosis or deaths. Long-term surveillance studies are needed for safety assessment.