381,592 papers found

Since 2005, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded an unprecedented number of complex dis-eases/traits-associated variants. Recently, scientists have focused on performing further analysis by utilizing the genome-wide genotyping data to identify more susceptibility genes of complex diseases/traits. Many st…

A meta-analysis of isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) in human immunodeficiency virus-positive individuals failed to show a mortality benefit even though tuberculosis is a leading cause of death in this group. Results for purified protein derivative (PPD) positive patients were heterogeneous, however, and two of the in…

OBJECTIVE: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are increasingly frequently used in the evaluation of medical treatments. This review explains the principles of the methodology, significance and limitations of systematic reviews. METHOD: Short review article. RESULTS: In contrast to conventional reviews, systematic r…

Frequent falls, disused atrophy or sarcopenia, as well as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are commonly found and the major risk factors for musculoskeletal ambulation disability symptom complex (MADS) among the elderly. In this article, focusing on the frequent falls and sarcopenia, the author is dealing with exercise…

Although ibandronate improves suboptimal compliance in patients receiving weekly bisphosphonates, there is a concern about its effect on the reduction of nonvertebral fractures. In the era of evidence-based medicine, randomized clinical trials are considered the highest quality evidence which guide us to the best clini…

Adjuvant chemotherapy, initiated following surgery, aims at controlling "microscopic" metastatic disease before its progression to a "clinical" recurrence. Its efficiency in localized breast cancer was officially demonstrated in 1992 in the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group meta-analysis. This analysis…

OBJECTIVES: To present the contour-enhanced funnel plot as an aid to differentiating asymmetry due to publication bias from that due to other factors. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: An enhancement to the usual funnel plot is proposed that allows the statistical significance of study estimates to be considered. Contour line…

Echinacea preparations are widely used for common cold. Many consumers and healthcare professionals are not aware that products available under the term Echinacea may differ in their composition, due to the use of different species, plant parts, extraction methods and addition of other components. In 2005, a Cochrane r…

Systematic reviews can help practitioners keep abreast of the medical literature by summarizing large bodies of evidence and helping to explain differences among studies on the same question. A systematic review involves the application of scientific strategies, in ways that limit bias, to the assembly, critical apprai…

We study prevalence-dependent diagnostic accuracy measures, specifically, positive and negative predictive values. These measures permit an assessment of the clinical utility of diagnostic tests across populations with different disease prevalences. In many cases, prevalence may not be known with certainty and the eval…

The subject which has been developed within the Workshop "the health services Epidemiology in health Agency: the initiatives, the activities, the structures. Direct and indirect evidences", held in Rome, in November 15th, 2001, is introduced and updated. After a historical excursus, the topical interest in the health s…

Seven oral triptans, which differ on a range of attributes important for treatment selection, are now available for treating migraine. US neurologists were surveyed to assess the relative importance of treatment attributes, prespecified by clinical relevance and availability of controlled study data, for selecting amon…

We applied traditional methods of gathering, integrating and summarizing findings of current literature, with new approaches for assessing the cost effectiveness of two treatments for hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). Findings of this cost effectiveness study are used to form a proposal for a multi-center prospective clinica…

Diagnostic testing can be used to discriminate subjects with a target disorder from subjects without it. Several indicators of diagnostic performance have been proposed, such as sensitivity and specificity. Using paired indicators can be a disadvantage in comparing the performance of competing tests, especially if one…

Coxibs are a new group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 selectively. They can be prescribed for treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, primary dysmenorrhea, and acute pain. Their main advantage is a reduction in the frequency of serious gastrointestinal compl…

An examination is made of a meta-analysis by Attewell, Glase and McFadden which concludes that bicycle helmets prevent serious injury, to the brain in particular, and that there is mounting scientific evidence of this. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) initiated and directed the meta-analysis of 16 observat…

J. D. Smith and J. P. Minda (2000) conducted a meta-analysis of 30 data sets reported in the classification literature that involved use of the "5-4" category structure introduced by D. L. Medin and M. M. Schaffer (1978). The meta-analysis was aimed at investigating exemplar and elaborated prototype models of categoriz…

(1) Iloprost, a vasodilatory prostacyclin analogue administered by infusion, is indicated for second-line therapy in patients with severe ischaemia of the lower limbs, when surgical revascularisation fails or is contraindicated. (2) In thromboangiitis obliterans the clinical file on iloprost has remained inadequate sin…

Meta-analyses of the relationship between dietary fat and breast cancer risk using different methodologies have reported conflicting results. This investigation compares methodologic aspects of meta-analyses of patient data (MAP) with meta-analyses of data from the literature (MAL), and computes relative risk (RR) esti…

This article highlights factors that may cause bias in individual controlled trials or meta-analysis of zidovudine (AZT) in HIV disease. The overall benefit of AZT and antiretroviral drug combinations in the progression of HIV disease is probably greater than has been or can ever be shown in an ethical controlled trial…