42,479 papers found

BACKGROUND: Scars can cause pain, even without symptoms of underlying nerve damage. A lack of knowledge on intrinsic scar pain hampers effective treatment of these complaints. OBJECTIVE: Aggregate current knowledge on the prevalence, etiology, and pathophysiology of intrinsic pain in dermal scars. STUDY DESIGN: Syste…

Gastrointestinal microbiota, consisting of microbial communities in the gastrointestinal tract, play an important role in digestive, metabolic, and immune functioning. Preclinical studies on rodents have linked behavioral and neurochemical changes in the central nervous system with deficits or alterations in these bact…

INTRODUCTION: The occurrence of bile leakage (BL) is one of the major contributors to the morbidity after hepatectomy. However, the clinical risk factors associated with postoperative BL remains controversial. This study aims to further assess the risk factors for BL. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We comprehensively searched…

BACKGROUND: Gout is a chronic disease of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition. Although hyperuricaemia is the central risk factor for development of gout, not all people with hyperuricaemia have subclinical MSU crystal deposition or indeed, symptomatic disease. The aim of this systematic literature review was to i…

BACKGROUND: National oral health policy was conscripted by the Indian Dental Association (IDA) in 1986 and was accepted as an integral part of National Health Policy (NHP) by the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare in one of its conferences in the year 1995. Objectives of this paper were to find out the effort…

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) versus conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery (CPCS) in the treatment of cataract. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Cont…

BACKGROUND: The utility of acupuncture in managing osteoarthritis symptoms is uncertain. Trial results are conflicting and previous systematic reviews may have overestimated the benefits of acupuncture. METHODS: Two reviewers independently identified randomized controlled trials (up to May 2014) from multiple electron…

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is an idiopathic, chronic, transmural inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Because mucosal involvement is near-universal, endoscopic healing has emerged as an important aspect in improving outcome. However, resolution of histologic disease activity has potential to conve…

BACKGROUND: Assessment of endoscopic disease activity, as measured by various endoscopic evaluative instruments, is an essential part of quantifying disease activity in clinical trials in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Evaluative instruments have specific definitions and operating properties that influence the…

AIM: The aim of this study was to systematically describe the gender and ethnic differences regarding the prevalence of general/central obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia among the indigenous and immigrant Pakistani communities.…

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this meta-analysis was to demonstrate whether a longer interval between the end of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and surgery is associated with a better rate of pathological complete response (pCR) in rectal cancer. BACKGROUND: The standard of care in locally advanced rectal cancer is preop…

BACKGROUND: Despite antidepressant therapy of appropriate trial duration and dose optimization, 50-60% of depressed patients have an adequate treatment response, whereas only 35-40% achieve remission. Psychostimulants have been suggested as potential candidates to promote acceleration of response and to alleviate resid…

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease which may involve any organ and system, including peripheral, autonomic, and central nervous system (CNS). According to the American College of Rheumatology nomenclature, the term "neuropsychiatric SLE" identifies neurological and ps…

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of pulmonary physiology have a central place in asthma clinical research. OBJECTIVE: At the request of National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes and other federal agencies, an expert group was convened to provide recommendations on the use of pulmonary function measures as asthma outcomes tha…

BACKGROUND: Rosai-Dorfman disease (sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy) rarely affects intracranial structures without involvement of other sites. We herein review the tumour characteristics, differential diagnosis and treatment policy of this rare disease. METHOD: We conducted a PUBMED search using a com…

OBJECTIVE: The effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV-23) in preventing pneumococcal disease in HIV-infected people is a subject of debate. We reviewed the clinical evidence for recommending PPV-23 for use in HIV-infected patients. METHODS: A systematic search of peer-reviewed publications…

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Bilateral basal ganglia lesions are neither diagnostic nor pathognomonic of uremic encephalopathy (UE). Nonetheless, bilateral basal ganglia T2/FLAIR hyperintensities have been widely reported to be associated with UE. The aim of this study was to describe a unique neuroradiological sign seen on…

Methamphetamine dependence is a serious public health problem worldwide for which there are no approved pharmacological treatments. Psychotherapy is still the mainstay of treatment; however, relapse rates are high. The search for effective pharmacological treatment has intensified in the last decade. This review will h…

OBJECTIVE: Salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia represent major clinical complications of radiation therapy, autoimmune disorders such as Sjögren's disease, and inherited epithelial ion transport defects. This review integrates current knowledge on ion channel dysfunction as a central mechanistic driver of s…

Beyond conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based morphological classifications of diabetic macular edema (DME), an expanding range of OCT-derived biomarkers has been identified that reflect distinct pathophysiological mechanisms and may carry diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic relevance. We summarize c…