Cochrane Db Syst Rev
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Depression is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disturbances in Parkinson's disease. 40% of observed variation in quality of life is due to depression. However, there is little hard evidence of the efficacy and safety of antidepressant therapies in Parkinson's disease. ⋯ Insufficient data on the effectiveness and safety of any antidepressants therapies in Parkinson's disease are available on which to make recommendations for their use. Further large scale randomised controlled trials are urgently required in this area.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
ReviewOral immunoglobulin for the treatment of rotavirus infection in low birth weight infants.
Rotavirus infection is the most common neonatal nosocomial viral infection. Epidemics with the newer P(6)G9 strains have been reported in neonatal units worldwide. These strains can cause severe symptoms in most infected infants. Infection control measures become necessary and the utilisation of hospital resources increase. Local mucosal immunity in the intestine to rotavirus is important in the resolution of infection and protection against subsequent infections. Boosting local immunity by oral administration of anti-rotaviral immunoglobulin preparations might be a useful strategy in treating rotaviral infections, especially in low birth weight babies. ⋯ We found no randomised controlled trials which assessed the effectiveness or safety of oral immunoglobulin preparations for the treatment of rotavirus infections in hospitalised low birthweight infants.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
ReviewLong acting beta-agonists versus theophylline for maintenance treatment of asthma.
Theophylline and long acting beta-2 agonists are bronchodilators used for the management of persistent asthma symptoms, especially nocturnal asthma. They represent different classes of drug with differing side-effect profiles. ⋯ Long-acting beta-2 agonists are at least as effective than theophylline in reducing asthma symptoms including night waking and improving lung function. Fewer adverse events occurred in subjects using long-acting beta-2 agonists(salmeterol and formoterol) as compared to theophylline.
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From animal experiments, there is evidence to suggest that intravenous immunoglobulins can reverse some of the disease process of central nervous system demyelination. Subsequently, clinical trials of intravenous immunoglobulins have been conducted in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). ⋯ There is some evidence to support use of intravenous immunoglobulins as a preventative treatment for relapses in relapsing remitting MS, but further studies should be performed using MRI and disease progression endpoints. It may be possible to draw more robust conclusions when ongoing or recently completed trials make their data available for review. Two rigorously conducted trials with a total of 122 participants did not demonstrate a positive clinical benefit, but were excluded from this review as they employed outcome measures not specified in our protocol. Immunoglobulins were well tolerated with a less than 5% risk of adverse events in participants in included trials.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2003
ReviewPsychological interventions for depression in adolescent and adult congenital heart disease.
Adult and adolescent congenital heart disease is increasing in prevalence as better medical care means more children are surviving to adulthood. People with chromic disease often also experience depression. There are several non-pharmacological treatments that might be effective in treating depression and improving quality of life for adults and young adults with congenital heart disease. The aim of this review was to assess the effects of treatments such as psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapies and talking therapies for treating depression in this population. ⋯ Depression is common in patients with congenital heart disease and can exacerbate the physical consequences of the illness. There are effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for depression, but we have not been able to identify any trials showing the effectiveness of non-pharmacological treatments. A well designed randomised controlled trial is needed to assess the effects of psychological interventions for depression in congenital heart disease.