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Dento Maxillo Facial Radiology Oct 2019Cone beam CT's use (CBCT) in dentistry is increasing. Incidental findings (IFs: discoveries unrelated to the original purpose of the scan), are frequently found as a...
OBJECTIVES
Cone beam CT's use (CBCT) in dentistry is increasing. Incidental findings (IFs: discoveries unrelated to the original purpose of the scan), are frequently found as a result of a large field of view. The aim of the systematic review is to analyze present literature on IFs using CBCT.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
The authors searched online databases of studies and assessed the prevalence of IFs among patients undergoing head and neck CBCT scans. STROBE criteria was used to evaluate the quality of the studies.
RESULTS
The original search retrieved 509 abstracts of which only 10 articles met the inclusion criteria. The sample size varied between 90 and 1000 participants. The frequency of IFs of the selected articles were 24.6-94.3%. The most common non-threatening IFs were found in the airway, such as mucous retention cyst (55.1%) and sinusitis (41.7%). Other non-threatening IFs were soft tissue calcifications such as calcified stylohyloid ligament (26.7%), calcified pineal gland (19.2%), and tonsillolith (14.3%). Threatening IFs were rare findings (1.4%). Three articles reported incidental carotid artery calcifications with a prevalence of 5.7-11.6%. Pathological findings were not common between the articles, but still relevant (2.6%). The studies had a risk of bias varying from moderate to low.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a high frequency of IFs, yet not all of them require immediate medical attention. The low prevalence of threatening IFs emphasizes that CBCT should not be considered a substitution for conventional radiographs, but when used, the scans should be evaluated by a maxillofacial radiologist.
Topics: Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Head; Humans; Incidental Findings; Neck; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31216179
DOI: 10.1259/dmfr.20180396 -
Medicine Jan 2019Melatonin is the "clock factor" generated from pineal gland dominating regular circadian rhythm in humans. Migraine is one of the most severe and debilitating primary...
BACKGROUND
Melatonin is the "clock factor" generated from pineal gland dominating regular circadian rhythm in humans. Migraine is one of the most severe and debilitating primary headache disorders. Thus far, many diseases have been found to associate with melatonin, including the migraine. Therefore, melatonin's therapeutic potential for migraine is drawing attention.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to offer a systematic review of extant data of melatonin in migraine prophylaxis and to provide clinical implications and specific recommendations for future studies.
DATA SOURCES AND STUDY METHODS
A systematic research was conducted in September 2018 by using PubMed and Google Scholar databases to search for science literature published after 1988.
RESULTS
In all, 7 eligible articles were identified, including 4 randomized controlled studies and 3 observational studies. Due to high heterogeneities and limited number of studies, meta-analysis was not feasible, and only systematic review was performed. The results show that present evidence cannot claim melatonin's effectiveness according to the conflicting outcomes; however, the two negative outcomes of melatonin not different from placebo and melatonin inferior to amitriptyline are possible under-powering because of methodological, pharmacological, and therapeutic shortcomings. Observational studies also support melatonin's efficacy in migraine. As a result, melatonin is very likely to benefit migraine in prophylaxis and may have a similar effectiveness to other main preventive medications. Immediate-release melatonin 3 mg was established as effective, melatonin receptor agonist (Agomelatine) 25 mg and prolonged-release melatonin 4 mg were observed efficacious in observational studies. Melatonin displayed ineffective in the 2-month trial; thus, 3 months or more may be an enough duration for migraine therapy. Despite melatonin being generally safe, emerging literature is illustrating that a few severe adverse effects can be caused by melatonin, for example, liver injuries, reproductive system dysfunctions, and detrimental immunostimulation.
CONCLUSIONS
Melatonin is very likely to be a promising alternative for migraine prophylaxis. Current literature examining melatonin's efficacy in migraine prevention is growing, but still limited. Future studies of perfect design in methodology, pharmacology, and therapeutics are needed to achieve a deeper awareness of melatonin's role in migraine as well as more studies to explore the safety issues of melatonin medicine.
Topics: Central Nervous System Depressants; Humans; Melatonin; Migraine Disorders; Observational Studies as Topic; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Tension-Type Headache
PubMed: 30653130
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014099 -
Journal of Ovarian Research Jun 2016Melatonin is an indolamine produced by the pineal gland and it can exert a potent antioxidant effect. Its free radical scavenger properties have been used to advantage... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Melatonin is an indolamine produced by the pineal gland and it can exert a potent antioxidant effect. Its free radical scavenger properties have been used to advantage in different organ transplants in animal experiments. Several concentrations and administration pathways have been tested and melatonin has shown encouraging beneficial results in many transplants of organs such as the liver, lungs, heart, pancreas, and kidneys. The objective of the present study was to review the scientific literature regarding the use of melatonin in ovary transplantation. A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was carried out using the Cochrane and Pubmed databases and employing the terms 'melatonin' AND 'ovary' AND 'transplantation.' After analysis, 5 articles were extracted addressing melatonin use in ovary transplants and involving 503 animals. Melatonin enhanced various graft aspects like morphology, apoptosis, immunological reaction, revascularization, oxidative stress, and survival rate. Melatonin's antioxidative and antiapoptotic properties seemingly produce positive effects on ovarian graft activity. Despite the promising results, further studies in humans need to be conducted to consolidate its use, as ovary transplantation for fertility preservation is gradually being moved from the experimental stage to a clinical setting.
Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Female; Graft Survival; Humans; Melatonin; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Organ Transplantation; Ovary; Oxidative Stress
PubMed: 27287621
DOI: 10.1186/s13048-016-0245-8