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Psychiatry Research Apr 2024A large group of psychiatric patients suffer from auditory hallucinations (AH) despite relevant treatment regimens. In mental health populations, AH tend to be verbal... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
A large group of psychiatric patients suffer from auditory hallucinations (AH) despite relevant treatment regimens. In mental health populations, AH tend to be verbal (AVH) and the content critical or abusive. Trials employing immersive virtual reality (VR) to treat mental health disorders are emerging.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of clinical trials utilizing VR in the treatment of AH and to document knowledge gaps in the literature.
METHODS
PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase were searched for studies reporting on the use of VR to target AH.
RESULTS
16 papers were included in this PRISMA scoping review (ScR). In most studies VR therapy (VRT) was employed to ameliorate treatment resistant AVH in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Only two studies included patients with a diagnosis of affective disorders. The VRT was carried out with the use of an avatar to represent the patient's most dominant voice.
DISCUSSION
The research field employing VR to treat AH is promising but still in its infancy. Results from larger randomized clinical trials are needed to establish substantial evidence of therapy effectiveness. Additionally, the knowledge base would benefit from more profound qualitative data exploring views of patients and therapists.
Topics: Humans; Hallucinations; Schizophrenia; Virtual Reality; Therapy, Computer-Assisted; Mental Health; Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy
PubMed: 38452499
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115834 -
Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine Mar 2024Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome (OCNDS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder caused by pathogenic variants in CSNK2A1. It is characterized by intellectual... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome (OCNDS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder caused by pathogenic variants in CSNK2A1. It is characterized by intellectual disability, developmental delay, and multisystemic abnormalities.
METHODS
We performed the whole-exome sequencing for a patient in a Chinese family. The co-segregation study using the Sanger sequencing method was performed among family members. Reverse transcription and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were carried out using total RNA from blood samples of the proband and wild-type control subjects. A review of patients with OCNDS harboring CSNK2A1 pathogenic variants was conducted through a comprehensive search of the PubMed database.
RESULTS
We identified a novel CSNK2A1 frameshift variant p.Tyr323Leufs*16 in a Chinese family. The proband, a 31-year-old female, presented with abnormal eating habits, recurrent seizures, language impairment, and intellectual disability. Her mother exhibited postnatal hernias, splenomegaly, and a predisposition to infections, but showed no significant developmental impairments or intellectual disability. Genetic studies revealed the presence of this variant in CSNK2A1 in both the proband and her mother. Transcription analysis revealed this variant may lead to nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, suggesting haploinsufficiency as a potential disease mechanism. We reviewed 47 previously reported OCNDS cases and discovered that individuals carrying CSNK2A1 null variants may exhibit a diminished frequency of symptoms linked to language deficits, dysmorphic facial features, or intellectual disability, consequently presenting an overall milder phenotype when compared to those with missense variants.
CONCLUSION
We report a novel frameshift variant, p.Tyr323Leufs*16, in an OCNDS family with a generally mild phenotype. This study may broaden the spectrum of clinical presentations associated with OCNDS and contribute novel insights into the genotype-phenotype correlation of this condition.
Topics: Adult; Female; Humans; Asian People; Databases, Factual; Genotype; Intellectual Disability; Phenotype
PubMed: 38444259
DOI: 10.1002/mgg3.2398 -
Nature Food Mar 2024Trade-off analysis (TOA) is central to policy and decision-making aimed at promoting sustainable agricultural landscapes. Yet, a generic methodological framework to...
Trade-off analysis (TOA) is central to policy and decision-making aimed at promoting sustainable agricultural landscapes. Yet, a generic methodological framework to assess trade-offs in agriculture is absent, largely due to the wide range of research disciplines and objectives for which TOA is used. In this study, we systematically reviewed 119 studies that have implemented TOAs in landscapes and regions dominated by agricultural systems around the world. Our results highlight that TOAs tend to be unbalanced, with a strong emphasis on productivity rather than environmental and socio-cultural services. TOAs have mostly been performed at farm or regional scales, rarely considering multiple spatial scales simultaneously. Mostly, TOAs fail to include stakeholders at study development stage, disregard recommendation uncertainty due to outcome variability and overlook risks associated with the TOA outcomes. Increased attention to these aspects is critical for TOAs to guide agricultural landscapes towards sustainability.
Topics: Conservation of Natural Resources; Agriculture; Farms; Policy
PubMed: 38443487
DOI: 10.1038/s43016-024-00926-x -
The Science of the Total Environment May 2024Respiratory disease transmission in indoor environments presents persistent challenges for health authorities, as exemplified by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This... (Review)
Review
Respiratory disease transmission in indoor environments presents persistent challenges for health authorities, as exemplified by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the urgent necessity to investigate the dynamics of viral infection transmission within indoor environments. This systematic review delves into the methodologies of respiratory infection transmission in indoor settings and explores how the quality of indoor air (IAQ) can be controlled to alleviate this risk while considering the imperative of sustainability. Among the 2722 articles reviewed, 178 were retained based on their focus on respiratory viral infection transmission and IAQ. Fifty eight articles delved into SARS-CoV-2 transmission, 21 papers evaluated IAQ in contexts of other pandemics, 53 papers assessed IAQ during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and 46 papers examined control strategies to mitigate infectious transmission. Furthermore, of the 46 papers investigating control strategies, only nine considered energy consumption. These findings highlight clear gaps in current research, such as analyzing indoor air and surface samples for specific indoor environments, oversight of indoor and outdoor parameters (e.g., temperature, relative humidity (RH), and building orientation), neglect of occupancy schedules, and the absence of considerations for energy consumption while enhancing IAQ. This study distinctly identifies the indoor environmental conditions conducive to the thriving of each respiratory virus, offering IAQ trade-offs to mitigate the risk of dominant viruses at any given time. This study argues that future research should involve digital twins in conjunction with machine learning (ML) techniques. This approach aims to enhance IAQ by analyzing the transmission patterns of various respiratory viruses while considering energy consumption.
Topics: Humans; Air Pollution, Indoor; Pandemics; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Temperature; Viruses
PubMed: 38432379
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171308 -
Medicine Mar 2024Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the global public health challenges due to the complexity of its mechanisms of occurrence. Many studies have suggested that... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the global public health challenges due to the complexity of its mechanisms of occurrence. Many studies have suggested that vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with BPH susceptibility. Still, their conflicting findings need to be analyzed in aggregate to gain a better understanding.
METHODS
We identified 10 trials involving 1539 BPH cases and 1915 controls through a systematic search of Embase using, data obtained from the Web of Science, PubMed, and China Knowledge Network databases as of December 31, 2021. A meta-analysis was performed to investigate the association between 4 constant polymorphisms of this associated vitamin D receptor gene (Fok-1, Bsm-1, Taq-1, and Apa-1) and BPH risk.
RESULTS
In the overall population analysis, a significant positive association with BPH risk was found only in the Taq-1 variant (P < .001). Of these, the pure-hybrid model (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.384-3.196), the heterozygous model (95% CI = 1.207-2.021), the dominant model (95% CI = 1.312-2.133) and the allelic inheritance model (95% CI = 1.205-1.730) showed low heterogeneity. In subtype analyses, Bsm-1 variants showed a significant association with BPH risk for both the recessive (95% CI = 0.100-0.943, P = .039) and over-dominant (95% CI = 1.553-3.100, P = 0) models in the Caucasian population, and for the recessive (95% CI = 1.242-3.283, P = .039) and over-dominant (95% CI = 0.281-0.680, P = 0) models in the Asian population. In addition, a high degree of heterogeneity was found in the subgroup analysis of the association between Fok-1 variants and BPH risk.
CONCLUSION
Overall, there is an association between vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and BPH risk. Identification of BPH susceptibility by vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms has potential.
Topics: Humans; Male; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Heterozygote; Polymorphism, Genetic; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Prostatic Hyperplasia; Receptors, Calcitriol
PubMed: 38428858
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037361 -
Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology 2024Recently, several novel programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors have been approved for second-line treating advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Recently, several novel programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors have been approved for second-line treating advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), including camrelizumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, sintilimab and tislelizumab. However, the optimal treatment regimen remained ambiguous.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy, safety and economy of available PD-1 inhibitors to determine the optimal treatment from the Chinese healthcare system perspective.
DESIGN
A systematic review and economic evaluation.
DATA SOURCES AND METHODS
A systematic review was undertaken utilizing PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase and Scopus databases to identify eligible studies until 31 August 2023. Primary outcomes were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and adverse events (AEs). We also developed a partitioned survival model at 3-week intervals based on five clinical trials to predict long-term costs, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for various treatment options. Direct medical costs and utility values were obtained from public drug bidding databases, clinical trials or published literature. The parameter uncertainties within the model were determined one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.
RESULTS
Five randomized controlled trials involving 2837 patients were included in the analysis. Compared with other treatments examined, camrelizumab provided the best PFS benefits [hazard ratio (HR): 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.56-0.86], and pembrolizumab provided the best OS benefits (HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.37-0.82). Nivolumab caused a relatively lower incidence of treatment-related AEs (HR: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.05-0.20) and grade 3-5 AEs (HR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.08-0.21) than other immunotherapy regimens. In the economic evaluation, average 10-year costs ranged from $5,433.86 (chemotherapy) to $50,617.95 (nivolumab) and mean QALYs ranged from 0.55 (chemotherapy) to 0.82 (camrelizumab). Pembrolizumab was eliminated because of dominance. Of the remaining strategies, when the willingness-to-pay thresholds were 1, 2 and 3 times GDP per capita in 2022, sintilimab, tislelizumab and camrelizumab were the most cost-effective treatment options, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Sintilimab might be the optimal treatment alternative for second-line therapy of advanced OSCC in China, followed by tislelizumab and camrelizumab.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
This study has been registered on the PROSPERO database with the registration number CRD42023495204.
PubMed: 38425370
DOI: 10.1177/17562848241233134 -
Veterinary World Jan 2024, a highly pathogenic bacterium responsible for melioidosis, exhibits ecological ubiquity and thrives within soil and water reservoirs, posing significant infection...
BACKGROUND AND AIM
, a highly pathogenic bacterium responsible for melioidosis, exhibits ecological ubiquity and thrives within soil and water reservoirs, posing significant infection risks to humans and animals through direct contact. The aim of this study was to elucidate the genetic diversity and prevalence patterns of sequence types (STs) across a global spectrum and to understand the relationships between strains isolated from different sources.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis in this study. Extensive research was carried out across three comprehensive databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect with data collected from 1924 to 2023.
RESULTS
A total of 40 carefully selected articles contributed 2737 isolates attributed to 729 distinct STs and were incorporated into the systematic review. Among these, ST46 emerged as the most prominent, featuring in 35% of the articles and demonstrating a dominant prevalence, particularly within Southeast Asia. Moreover, ST51 consistently appeared across human, animal, and environmental studies. Subsequently, we performed a meta-analysis, focusing on nine specific STs: ST46, ST51, ST54, ST70, ST84, ST109, ST289, ST325, and ST376. Surprisingly, no statistically significant differences in their pooled prevalence proportions were observed across these compartments for ST46, ST70, ST289, ST325, and ST376 (all p > 0.69). Conversely, the remaining STs, including ST51, ST54, ST84, and ST109, displayed notable variations in their prevalence among the three domains (all p < 0.04). Notably, the pooled prevalence of ST51 in animals and environmental samples surpassed that found in human isolates (p < 0.01).
CONCLUSION
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the intricate relationships between STs and their sources and contributes significantly to our understanding of diversity within the One Health framework.
PubMed: 38406370
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.26-36 -
Medicine Feb 2024Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease which results in non-scarring hair loss on the scalp or any surface with hair. Several genetic polymorphisms of the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease which results in non-scarring hair loss on the scalp or any surface with hair. Several genetic polymorphisms of the interleukin genes have been linked with this disease but the results are inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis were done to find the association between rs3118470, rs2275913, rs3212227, and rs10889677 of the IL2RA, IL17A, IL12B, and IL23R genes, respectively, of the interleukin family with alopecia areata.
METHODS
A comprehensive search for relevant research articles was conducted in Pubmed, Google Scholar, and Embase databases. Our search yielded 8 relevant articles with 1940 cases and 1788 controls. The odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals was calculated using fixed effect and random effect models. Heterogeneity was determined using the Q-test and I2 test. Publication bias was determined and funnel plots were used to adjust the odds ratio.
RESULTS
We found a significant risk effect for rs3118470 of the IL2RA gene with alopecia areata in the dominant model (CC + CT vs TT; OR = 1.54, 95% confidence interval = 1.05-2.26, P < .05, I2 = 69.03%) and homozygous model (CC vs TT; OR = 2.00, 95% confidence interval = 1.07-3.71, P < .05, I2 = 72.84%). For the other single nucleotide polymorphisms, we could not find any statistically significant association with the disease.
CONCLUSION
Our analysis showed that mutation of rs3118470 of IL2RA gene possesses a significant risk effect for alopecia areata. Future studies with larger sample sizes and ethnic backgrounds are warranted to confirm our findings.
Topics: Humans; Alopecia Areata; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Interleukins; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
PubMed: 38394507
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037300 -
Medicine Feb 2024Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common and recurrent inflammatory disease with strong genetic susceptibility. The abnormal production of chemokines plays an important role... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common and recurrent inflammatory disease with strong genetic susceptibility. The abnormal production of chemokines plays an important role in the occurrence and development of AD.
METHODS
A comprehensive online literature search was performed in databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP China Science and Technology Journal Database, China Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library to retrieve relevant articles published from January 2000 to October 2022. The odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was employed to calculate this relationship.
RESULTS
A total of 7 studies were finally screened out, including 1316 AD patients and 1099 controls. There were 3 studies for CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) polymorphisms, 2 for CCL11 polymorphisms, and 2 for CCL17 polymorphisms, respectively. The meta-analysis revealed a significant association between the CCL5 - 403G/A polymorphism and AD under the allelic model (A vs G: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.02-1.52, P = .03), heterozygous model (AG vs GG: OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.08-1.80, P = .01) and dominant model (AA + AG vs GG: OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.08-1.76, P = .01) in a fixed-effect model. The allelic model (G vs C: OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.07-1.98, P < .01) and dominant model (GG + GC vs CC: OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.23-2.47, P < .001) of the CCL5 - 28C/G polymorphism were also associated with an increased risk of AD. However, this significant association was not found in other alleles and genotypes (P > .05).
CONCLUSION
Our results show that the A allele, AG and AA + AG genotypes of the CCL5 - 403G/A polymorphism, the G allele and GG + GC genotype of the CCL5 - 28C/G polymorphism are risk factors for AD. Future studies with large population are still needed to further explore those correlations.
Topics: Humans; Chemokine CCL11; Chemokine CCL17; Chemokine CCL5; Dermatitis, Atopic; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genotype; Ligands; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38394497
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000036897 -
Frontiers in Medicine 2023The rapid development of COVID-19 bivalent vaccines (BVs) has encompassed both the original virus strains and the variant strain. However, the effectiveness of BVs is...
OBJECTIVE
The rapid development of COVID-19 bivalent vaccines (BVs) has encompassed both the original virus strains and the variant strain. However, the effectiveness of BVs is largely unknown. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of BVs.
METHODS
Literature research was conducted through PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science up until November 4, 2023. Both randomized control trials and observational studies were considered for inclusion. Pooled estimates were calculated using a random effects model. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the risk of bias in cohort and case-control studies.
RESULTS
A total of 1,174 articles were reviewed and 22 eligible studies were included. All included studies were observational (15 cohort studies, 7 case-control studies). The total number of participants was 39,673,160, and the number of people vaccinated with BVs as an intervention group was 11,585,182. Two mRNA BVs were mainly involved, including the ancestral strain and the BA.1 or BA.4-5 variants. Meta-analysis results showed, compared with the monovalent vaccines (MVs), the relative effectiveness (rVE) of the BVs in COVID-19-associated infections/symptomatic infections, illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths was 30.90% [95% confidence interval (CI), 8.43-53.37], 39.83% (95% CI, 27.34-52.32), 59.70% (95% CI, 44.08-75.32), and 72.23% (95% CI, 62.08-82.38), respectively. For those aged 50 years and older, BVs provided an additional 49.69% (95% CI, 41.44-57.94) effective protection compared with MVs. During the dominance period of the omicron XBB variant strain, BVs provided an additional 47.63% (95% CI, 27.45-67.82) effective protection compared with MVs.
CONCLUSION
Our findings show that the rVE of BVs in preventing COVID-19-associated infections, symptomatic infections, illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths is higher compared to MVs. Particularly for people over 50 years of age and during the Omicron variant XBB dominance phase, BVs provided superior protection. Therefore, BVs may have a broader application in the prevention and control of coronaviruses variant.
PubMed: 38384317
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1322396