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Clinical Gastroenterology and... Apr 2015Little is known about differences in rates of fibrosis progression between patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) vs nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND & AIMS
Little is known about differences in rates of fibrosis progression between patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) vs nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all studies that assessed paired liver biopsy specimens to estimate the rates of fibrosis progression in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) including NAFL and NASH.
METHODS
Through a systematic search of multiple databases and author contact, up to June 2013, we identified studies of adults with NAFLD that collected paired liver biopsy specimens at least 1 year apart. From these, we calculated a pooled-weighted annual fibrosis progression rate (number of stages changed between the 2 biopsy samples) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and identified clinical risk factors associated with progression.
RESULTS
We identified 11 cohort studies including 411 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD (150 with NAFL and 261 with NASH). At baseline, the distribution of fibrosis for stages 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 35.8%, 32.5%, 16.7%, 9.3%, and 5.7%, respectively. Over 2145.5 person-years of follow-up evaluation, 33.6% had fibrosis progression, 43.1% had stable fibrosis, and 22.3% had an improvement in fibrosis stage. The annual fibrosis progression rate in patients with NAFL who had stage 0 fibrosis at baseline was 0.07 stages (95% CI, 0.02-0.11 stages), compared with 0.14 stages in patients with NASH (95% CI, 0.07-0.21 stages). These findings correspond to 1 stage of progression over 14.3 years for patients with NAFL (95% CI, 9.1-50.0 y) and 7.1 years for patients with NASH (95% CI, 4.8-14.3 y).
CONCLUSIONS
Based on a meta-analysis of studies of paired liver biopsy studies, liver fibrosis progresses in patients with NAFL and NASH.
Topics: Biopsy; Disease Progression; Histocytochemistry; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Risk Factors
PubMed: 24768810
DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2014.04.014 -
European Spine Journal : Official... Jul 2021Idiopathic scoliosis, defined as a > 10° curvature of the spine in the frontal plane, is one of the most common spinal deformities. Age, initial curve magnitude and... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Idiopathic scoliosis, defined as a > 10° curvature of the spine in the frontal plane, is one of the most common spinal deformities. Age, initial curve magnitude and other parameters define whether a scoliotic deformity will progress or not. Still, their interactions and amounts of individual contribution are not fully elaborated and were the aim of this systematic review.
METHODS
A systematic literature search was conducted in the common databases using MESH terms, searching for predictive factors of curve progression in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis ("adolescent idiopathic scoliosis" OR "ais" OR "idiopathic scoliosis") AND ("predictive factors" OR "progression" OR "curve progression" OR "prediction" OR "prognosis"). The identified and analysed factors of each study were rated to design a top five scale of the most relevant factors.
RESULTS
Twenty-eight investigations with 8255 patients were identified by literature search. Patient-specific risk factors for curve progression from initial curve were age (at diagnosis < 13 years), family history, bone mineral status (< 110 mg/cm in quantitative CT) and height velocity (7-8 cm/year, peak 11.6 ± 1.4 years). Relevant radiological criteria indicating curve progression included skeletal maturity, marked by Risser stages (Risser < 1) or Sanders Maturity Scale (SMS < 5), the initial extent of the Cobb angle (> 25° progression) and curve location (thoracic single or double curve).
DISCUSSION
This systematic review summarised the current state of knowledge as the basis for creation of patient-specific algorithms regarding a risk calculation for a progressive scoliotic deformity. Curve magnitude is the most relevant predictive factor, followed by status of skeletal maturity and curve location.
Topics: Adolescent; Disease Progression; Humans; Prognosis; Radiography; Retrospective Studies; Scoliosis; Spine
PubMed: 33772381
DOI: 10.1007/s00586-021-06817-0 -
Eye (London, England) May 2022Myopia is a leading cause of visual impairment and has raised significant international concern in recent decades with rapidly increasing prevalence and incidence... (Review)
Review
Myopia is a leading cause of visual impairment and has raised significant international concern in recent decades with rapidly increasing prevalence and incidence worldwide. Accurate prediction of future myopia risk could help identify high-risk children for early targeted intervention to delay myopia onset or slow myopia progression. Researchers have built and assessed various myopia prediction models based on different datasets, including baseline refraction or biometric data, lifestyle data, genetic data, and data integration. Here, we summarize all related work published in the past 30 years and provide a comprehensive review of myopia prediction methods, datasets, and performance, which could serve as a useful reference and valuable guideline for future research.
Topics: Biometry; Child; Disease Progression; Humans; Incidence; Myopia; Refraction, Ocular
PubMed: 34645966
DOI: 10.1038/s41433-021-01805-6 -
Cancer Metastasis Reviews Mar 2022The objective of the study was to document the effect of adipocytokines on endometrial cancer progression. A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Cochrane,... (Review)
Review
The objective of the study was to document the effect of adipocytokines on endometrial cancer progression. A search of the databases CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Embase and Google Scholar was performed for English language articles from January 2000 to December 2020 using the keywords: (Endometrial cancer) AND (progression OR metastasis) AND (adipocytokine OR adiponectin OR leptin OR visfatin OR IL-6 OR TNF-α OR adipokine OR cytokine). Forty-nine studies on adipocytokines have been included in this review. Adiponectin has been linked with anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects on endometrial cancer cells and is associated with a better prognosis. Leptin, visfatin and resistin are linked to the stimulation of endometrial cancer growth, proliferation, invasion and metastasis and are associated with worse prognosis or with a higher grade/stage of endometrial cancer. IL-6, Il-11, IL-31, IL-33, TNF-α, TGF-β1, SDF-1 and CXCR are involved in endometrial cancer cell growth and metastasis or involved in epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) or associated with advanced disease. Adipocytokines have been found to directly impact endometrial cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration. These molecules and their signalling pathways may be used to determine prognosis and course of the disease and may also be exploited as potential targets for cancer treatment and prevention of progression.
Topics: Adipokines; Adiponectin; Disease Progression; Endometrial Neoplasms; Female; Humans; Interleukin-6; Leptin; Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 34951691
DOI: 10.1007/s10555-021-10002-6 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Aug 2012Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine . While AIS can progress during growth and cause a surface deformity, it is usually... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine . While AIS can progress during growth and cause a surface deformity, it is usually not symptomatic. However, in adulthood, if the final spinal curvature surpasses a certain critical threshold, the risk of health problems and curve progression is increased. The use of scoliosis-specific exercises (SSE) to reduce progression of AIS and postpone or avoid other more invasive treatments is controversial.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the efficacy of SSE in adolescent patients with AIS.
SEARCH METHODS
The following databases (up to 30 March 2011) were searched with no language limitations: CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2011, issue 2), MEDLINE (from January 1966), EMBASE (from January 1980), CINHAL (from January 1982), SportDiscus (from January 1975), PsycInfo (from January 1887), PEDro (from January 1929). We screened reference lists of articles and also conducted an extensive handsearch of grey literature.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort studies with a control group comparing exercises with no treatment, other treatment, surgery, and different types of exercises.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently selected studies, assessed risk of bias and extracted data.
MAIN RESULTS
Two studies (154 participants) were included. There is low quality evidence from one randomised controlled study that exercises as an adjunctive to other conservative treatments increase the efficacy of these treatments (thoracic curve reduced: mean difference (MD) 9.00, (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.47 to 12.53); lumbar curve reduced:MD 8.00, (95% CI 5.08 to 10.92)). There is very low quality evidence from a prospective controlled cohort study that scoliosis-specific exercises structured within an exercise programme can reduce brace prescription (risk ratio (RR) 0.24, (95% CI 0.06 to1.04) as compared to usual physiotherapy (many different kinds of general exercises according to the preferences of the single therapists within different facilities).
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There is a lack of high quality evidence to recommend the use of SSE for AIS. One very low quality study suggested that these exercises may be more effective than electrostimulation, traction and postural training to avoid scoliosis progression, but better quality research needs to be conducted before the use of SSE can be recommended in clinical practice.
Topics: Adolescent; Disease Progression; Electric Stimulation Therapy; Exercise Therapy; Humans; Physical Therapy Modalities; Posture; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Scoliosis; Traction
PubMed: 22895967
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007837.pub2 -
Neurotoxicology Jul 2017Current research has identified several factors thought to be associated with the onset and progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD); however, whether certain factors... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Current research has identified several factors thought to be associated with the onset and progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD); however, whether certain factors contribute to or are protective against PD remains unclear. As such, a systematic search of the literature was performed using variations of MeSH and keyword search terms to identify and summarize systematic reviews and primary studies pertaining to factors associated with the onset and progression of PD. Factors referred to both traditional risk factors and prodromal markers. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, AARP AgeLine, and PDGene. A quality assessment of included systematic reviews was completed using the validated Assessment of the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Data extraction targeted reported factors, risk estimates, and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Findings identified 11 systematic reviews of sufficient quality reporting factors for PD onset, and no systematic reviews reporting factors for PD progression. In addition, 93 primary articles were identified, of which, 89 articles addressed factors related to PD onset and 4 articles addressed factors related to the PD progression. Pesticide exposure, rural living, well-water drinking, and farming occupation were consistently found to be positively associated with the onset of PD. Moreover, family history and polymorphisms to key genes were also found to be positively associated with the onset of PD. Conversely, coffee consumption, cigarette smoking, and some polymorphisms were consistently found to be negatively associated with the onset of PD. Urate was the only identified factor linked to the progression of PD; it was mostly found to be negatively associated with PD. In sum, the evidence was systematically found and summarized in the literature pertaining to factors related to the onset and progression of PD.
Topics: Age of Onset; Databases, Bibliographic; Disease Progression; Humans; Parkinson Disease; Risk Factors
PubMed: 27058967
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2016.04.003 -
Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and... Apr 2018Recent data pose the question whether conservative management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by means of a low-protein diet can be a safe and effective means to avoid... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Recent data pose the question whether conservative management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) by means of a low-protein diet can be a safe and effective means to avoid or defer transition to dialysis therapy without causing protein-energy wasting or cachexia. We aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse the controlled clinical trials with adequate participants in each trial, providing rigorous contemporary evidence of the impact of a low-protein diet in the management of uraemia and its complications in patients with CKD.
METHODS
We searched MEDLINE (PubMed) and other sources for controlled trials on CKD to compare clinical management of CKD patients under various levels of dietary protein intake or to compare restricted protein intake with other interventions. Studies with similar patients, interventions, and outcomes were included in the meta-analyses.
RESULTS
We identified 16 controlled trials of low-protein diet in CKD that met the stringent qualification criteria including having 30 or more participants. Compared with diets with protein intake of >0.8 g/kg/day, diets with restricted protein intake (<0.8 g/kg/day) were associated with higher serum bicarbonate levels, lower phosphorus levels, lower azotemia, lower rates of progression to end-stage renal disease, and a trend towards lower rates of all-cause death. In addition, very-low-protein diets (protein intake <0.4 g/kg/day) were associated with greater preservation of kidney function and reduction in the rate of progression to end-stage renal disease. Safety and adherence to a low-protein diet was not inferior to a normal protein diet, and there was no difference in the rate of malnutrition or protein-energy wasting.
CONCLUSIONS
In this pooled analysis of moderate-size controlled trials, a low-protein diet appears to enhance the conservative management of non-dialysis-dependent CKD and may be considered as a potential option for CKD patients who wish to avoid or defer dialysis initiation and to slow down the progression of CKD, while the risk of protein-energy wasting and cachexia remains minimal.
Topics: Diet, Protein-Restricted; Disease Progression; Humans; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
PubMed: 29094800
DOI: 10.1002/jcsm.12264 -
The Journal of Urology Oct 2016Although associated with an overall favorable survival rate, the heterogeneity of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) affects patients' rates of recurrence and... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
Although associated with an overall favorable survival rate, the heterogeneity of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) affects patients' rates of recurrence and progression. Risk stratification should influence evaluation, treatment and surveillance. This guideline attempts to provide a clinical framework for the management of NMIBC.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A systematic review utilized research from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and additional supplementation by the authors and consultant methodologists. Evidence-based statements were based on body of evidence strength Grade A, B, or C and were designated as Strong, Moderate, and Conditional Recommendations with additional statements presented in the form of Clinical Principles or Expert Opinions.(1) RESULTS: A risk-stratified approach categorizes patients into broad groups of low-, intermediate-, and high-risk. Importantly, the evaluation and treatment algorithm takes into account tumor characteristics and uniquely considers a patient's response to therapy. The 38 statements vary in level of evidence, but none include Grade A evidence, and many were Grade C.
CONCLUSION
The intensity and scope of care for NMIBC should focus on patient, disease, and treatment response characteristics. This guideline attempts to improve a clinician's ability to evaluate and treat each patient, but higher quality evidence in future trials will be essential to improve level of care for these patients.
Topics: Combined Modality Therapy; Disease Progression; Humans; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Societies, Medical; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms; Urology
PubMed: 27317986
DOI: 10.1016/j.juro.2016.06.049 -
JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and... Jan 2018To summarize the best available evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions for preventing frailty progression in older adults.
OBJECTIVE
To summarize the best available evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions for preventing frailty progression in older adults.
INTRODUCTION
Frailty is an age-related state of decreased physiological reserves characterized by an increased risk of poor clinical outcomes. Evidence supporting the malleability of frailty, its prevention and treatment, has been presented.
INCLUSION CRITERIA
The review considered studies on older adults aged 65 and over, explicitly identified as pre-frail or frail, who had been undergoing interventions focusing on the prevention of frailty progression. Participants selected on the basis of specific illness or with a terminal diagnosis were excluded. The comparator was usual care, alternative therapeutic interventions or no intervention. The primary outcome was frailty. Secondary outcomes included: (i) cognition, quality of life, activities of daily living, caregiver burden, functional capacity, depression and other mental health-related outcomes, self-perceived health and social engagement; (ii) drugs and prescriptions, analytical parameters, adverse outcomes and comorbidities; (iii) costs, and/or costs relative to benefits and/or savings associated with implementing the interventions for frailty. Experimental study designs, cost effectiveness, cost benefit, cost minimization and cost utility studies were considered for inclusion.
METHODS
Databases for published and unpublished studies, available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Dutch, from January 2001 to November 2015, were searched. Critical appraisal was conducted using standardized instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data was extracted using the standardized tools designed for quantitative and economic studies. Data was presented in a narrative form due to the heterogeneity of included studies.
RESULTS
Twenty-one studies, all randomized controlled trials, with a total of 5275 older adults and describing 33 interventions, met the criteria for inclusion. Economic analyses were conducted in two studies. Physical exercise programs were shown to be generally effective for reducing or postponing frailty but only when conducted in groups. Favorable effects on frailty indicators were also observed after the interventions, based on physical exercise with supplementation, supplementation alone, cognitive training and combined treatment. Group meetings and home visits were not found to be universally effective. Lack of efficacy was evidenced for physical exercise performed individually or delivered one-to-one, hormone supplementation and problem solving therapy. Individually tailored management programs for clinical conditions had inconsistent effects on frailty prevalence. Economic studies demonstrated that this type of intervention, as compared to usual care, provided better value for money, particularly for very frail community-dwelling participants, and had favorable effects in some of the frailty-related outcomes in inpatient and outpatient management, without increasing costs.
CONCLUSIONS
This review found mixed results regarding the effectiveness of frailty interventions. However, there is clear evidence on the usefulness of such interventions in carefully chosen evidence-based circumstances, both for frailty itself and for secondary outcomes, supporting clinical investment of resources in frailty intervention. Further research is required to reinforce current evidence and examine the impact of the initial level of frailty on the benefits of different interventions. There is also a need for economic evaluation of frailty interventions.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Aged; Disease Progression; Frailty; Humans; Independent Living; Primary Health Care
PubMed: 29324562
DOI: 10.11124/JBISRIR-2017-003382 -
The Lancet. Respiratory Medicine Sep 2018European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of adult bronchiectasis highlight the paucity of treatment options available for patients with this disorder....
European Respiratory Society guidelines for the management of adult bronchiectasis highlight the paucity of treatment options available for patients with this disorder. No treatments have been licensed by regulatory agencies worldwide, and most therapies used in clinical practice are based on very little evidence. Development of new treatments is needed urgently. We did a systematic review of scientific literature and clinical trial registries to identify agents in early-to-late clinical development for bronchiectasis in adults. In this Review, we discuss the mechanisms and potential roles of emerging therapies, including drugs that target airway and systemic inflammation, mucociliary clearance, and epithelial dysfunction. To ensure these treatments achieve success in randomised clinical trials-and therefore reach patients-we propose a reassessment of the current approach to bronchiectasis. Although understanding of the pathophysiology of bronchiectasis is at an early stage, we argue that bronchiectasis is a heterogeneous disease with many different biological mechanisms that drive disease progression (endotypes), and therefore the so-called treatable traits approach used in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease could be applied to bronchiectasis, with future trials targeted at the specific disease subgroups most likely to benefit.
Topics: Adult; Bronchiectasis; Disease Progression; Humans; Mucociliary Clearance; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Precision Medicine; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 29478908
DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(18)30053-5