Search results for "Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic"

Effect of high-caloric nutrition on serum neurofilament light chain levels in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2020

Recent publications showed that circulating neurofilaments (Nfs) may be used as a diagnostic biomarker distinguishing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from ALS mimics with high sensitivity and specificity.1–3 Furthermore, it has been shown that patients with higher Nf levels show faster disease progression1 and shorter survival.2 3 Nf levels remain rather stable during the course of disease.2 Current literature suggests that the diagnostic value of neurofilament light chains (NfL) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chains in cerebrospinal fluid is about equal, whereas in blood NfL seems to be superior.4 In this study, we investigated the effect of a high-caloric fatty diet (HCFD) on …

Relapse prevention in alcoholics by cigarette smoking? Involvement of nicotinic-dopaminergic mechanisms.

2001

Because of a controversial view on the role of smoking in the recovery process of alcoholism, outcome data obtained for alcoholics who had been included in a long-term clinical trial with a putative anticraving drug were analyzed. To avoid unknown interactions between the drug under study and smoking behavior, only placebo-treated patients were evaluated in this investigation. After 12 months of rehabilitation, there was no significant difference regarding abstinence rate between 48 smoking alcoholics (who reported that they smoked 32 cigarettes on average per day) and 15 nonsmoking alcoholics (33% vs. 20%). However, smokers tended to be abstinent longer than nonsmokers (173 vs. 114 days; P…

Blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol lowering for prevention of strokes and cognitive decline: a review of available trial evidence.

2014

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:: It is well established by a large number of randomized controlled trials that lowering blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by drugs are powerful means to reduce stroke incidence, but the optimal BP and LDL-C levels to be achieved are largely uncertain. Concerning BP targets, two hypotheses are being confronted: first, the lower the BP, the better the treatment outcome, and second, the hypothesis that too low BP values are accompanied by a lower benefit and even higher risk. It is also unknown whether BP lowering and LDL-C lowering have additive beneficial effects for the primary and secondary prevention of stroke, and whether these…

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are associated with weight loss in older people with dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2016

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the influence of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) therapy on nutritional status and weight across observational and interventional studies. Two authors searched major electronic databases from inception until 10/14/2015 for longitudinal, open-label and randomised double-blind placebo controlled (randomised controlled trials (RCTs)) studies of AChEIs in patients with dementia reporting nutritional status outcome data. Out of 3551 initial hits, 25 studies (12 open-label trials, 9 RCTs and 4 longitudinal studies) including 10 792 patients with dementia were meta-analysed. In longitudinal studies (median follow-up 6 months…

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms: What's New in Medical Treatment?

2018

Abstract Context Pharmacological treatment is a cornerstone in the management of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Objective To review emerging evidence in the medical treatment of LUTS. Evidence acquisition An Embase/Pubmed-based literature search was conducted in December 2017, screening for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective and retrospective series, animal model studies, and reviews on medical treatment of LUTS. Evidence synthesis The main medical innovation in recent years in overactive bladder (OAB) has been the approval of the first β 3 -adrenoceptor agonists (mirabegron) and intradetrusor onabotulinum toxin A, while several other drugs such as antiepil…

The effects of enzalutamide and abiraterone on skeletal related events and bone radiological progression free survival in castration resistant prosta…

2017

Two new drugs, the CYP17 inhibitor abiraterone acetate and the androgen receptor (AR) antagonist enzalutamide, have recently shown to prolong OS prior chemotherapy or in docetaxel treated mCRPC patients, using steroidal therapy or placebo as control group. Updated analyses underlined the role of these new agents on two prostate-specific endpoints as radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and time to first skeletal-related event (tSRE). On the basis of these reports, we made an indirect comparison between abiraterone and enzalutamide. We obtained a clinically but not significant difference favouring enzalutamide over abiraterone in terms of rPFS (HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.22–1.02). No signi…

Effects of statins on lipid profile in chronic kidney disease patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

2013

The available data on statin effects in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are still conflicting. We investigated the impact of short- and long-term statin therapy on lipid profiles in CKD patients requiring or not requiring dialysis.Data from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from 1966 to May 2012 were searched for studies that investigated this effect. We included all randomized controlled clinical trials that investigated the impact of statin therapy on lipids and lipoproteins.The final analysis included 16 trials with 3594 subjects. In CKD patients, statin therapy significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein chole…

Clinic modelling randomised trials (CMRT's) in animals as a new intermediate between biological experiments and randomised clinical trials: applicati…

1998

Pulmonary embolism: risk assessment and management.

2012

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) poses a significant burden on health and survival. Its severity ranges from asymptomatic, incidentally discovered subsegmental thrombi to massive, pressor-dependent PE complicated by cardiogenic shock and multisystem organ failure. Rapid and accurate risk stratification is therefore of paramount importance to ensure the highest quality of care. This article critically reviews currently available and emerging tools for risk-stratifying acute PE, and particularly for distinguishing between elevated (intermediate) and low risk among normotensive patients. We focus on the potential value of risk assessment strategies for optimizing severity-adjusted management. Apa…

Physical fitness in relation to later body composition in pre-school children

2019

Objectives Although physical fitness is considered a marker of health in youth, little is known whether physical fitness in pre-school age is related to later body composition. Thus, this study investigated (i) associations of physical fitness at 4.5 years of age with body composition 12 months later and (ii) whether improvements in physical fitness during the 12-month follow-up were associated with changes in body composition. Design This study included 142 children, measured at 4.5 and 5.5 years, from the control group of the MINISTOP trial. Methods Physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness, lower- and upper-body muscular strength and motor fitness) was measured using the PREFIT test ba…