Effects of natalizumab on oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are utilized for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), as they are found in 95% of patients. Additionally, OCBs are linked to disease prognosis. The primary contributors to OCB production are long-lived plasma cells.

Effectiveness of hand reconstruction techniques for the treatment of postburn contractures of the hand: A systematic review.

Introduction: Despite the multitude of preventative methods, postburn hand contractures are poorly controlled and often require surgery. However, there is no consensus on which hand reconstruction technique is most efficacious. This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy of available postburn hand contracture reconstruction techniques over the long term and to evaluate the quality of current literature.

Efficacy and Safety of Magnesium Sulfate as an Adjunct to Ropivacaine Wound Infiltration in Thyroid Surgery: A Prospective, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Wound infiltration with local anesthetics emerges as a promising modality for postoperative pain alleviation. However, such strategies in neck surgery have not been a well-established practice. To assess wound infiltration with ropivacaine plus magnesium sulfate for pain relief following thyroid surgery.

Loss of the "swallow tail sign" on susceptibility-weighted imaging in the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Loss of dorsolateral nigral hyperintensity (DNH) on iron-sensitive brain MRI is useful for Parkinson's disease detection. DNH loss could also be of diagnostic value in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), an a-synuclein-related pathology. We aim to quantitatively synthesize evidence, investigating the role of MRI, a first-line imaging modality, in early DLB detection and differentiation from other dementias.

Identification of Key Genes Associated with Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration and Survival in Gastric Adenocarcinoma via Bioinformatics Analysis.

Objective: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. The tumor microenvironment plays a significant role in the pathogenesis, prognosis, and response to immunotherapy. However, the immune-related molecular mechanisms underlying GC remain elusive.

Efficacy of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor in Acute on Chronic Liver Failure: A Systematic Review and Survival Meta-Analysis.

Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) mostly occurs when there is an acute insult to the liver in patients with pre-existing liver disease, and it is characterized by a high mortality rate. Various therapeutic approaches have been used thus far, with orthotopic liver transplantation being the only definitive cure. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have investigated the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to mobilize bone marrow-derived stem cells.

Local Wound Infiltration for Thyroidectomized Patients in the Era of Multimodal Analgesia.

The first few hours following thyroidectomy are the most crucial for pain management. Adequate postoperative pain control, reduction in opioid abuse and the possibility of implementing one-day operations are the considered parameters when developing the postoperative analgesic strategy. A study of the available literature was conducted, exploring the efficacy of (open) thyroidectomy wound infiltration.

The Immunomodulatory Effect of Various Anaesthetic Practices in Patients Undergoing Gastric or Colon Cancer Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

Background: Gastric and colorectal carcinomas are associated with increased mortality and an increasing incidence worldwide, while surgical resection remains the primary approach for managing these conditions. Emerging evidence suggests that the immunosuppression induced by the chosen anaesthesia approach, during the perioperative period, can have a significant impact on the immune system and consequently the prognosis of these patients.

Aim: This systematic review aims to comprehensively summarize the existing literature on the effects of different anaesthesia techniques on immune system responses, focusing on cellular immunity in patients undergoing the surgical removal of gastric or colorectal carcinomas.

Efficacy and safety of parenteral and local application of tramadol in mandibular third molar extraction: a qualitative systematic review of current evidence.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety of perioperative parenteral administration or submucosal infiltration of tramadol for perioperative pain control on the basis of pain intensity or analgesics consumption and perioperative outcomes in mandibular third molar surgery.

Material-methods: An electronic database search was conducted up to 10 November 2022 to retrieve all randomized controlled trials (RCTs), assessing the analgesic efficacy of parenteral use of tramadol implemented as an adjunct to local anesthesia or intraoperative sedation/general anesthesia, in surgical extraction of mandibular third molars. Modified Jadad scale and Cochrane bias tool were used for the qualitative appraisal.

Efficacy and safety of probiotics in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials using ROME IV criteria.

Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder which affects a great number of patients globally. Clinical trials and meta-analyses have evaluated different therapies for IBS. Some of them have shown that probiotics play a significant role in the management of IBS-patients.

Validation of the Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT) and SORT v2 for Predicting Postoperative Mortality in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer Undergoing Surgery.

Background: Pancreatic cancer surgery is related to significant mortality, thus necessitating the accurate assessment of perioperative risk to enhance treatment decision making. A Surgical Outcome Risk Tool (SORT) and SORT v2 have been developed to provide enhanced risk stratification. Our aim was to validate the accuracy of SORT and SORT v2 in pancreatic cancer surgery.

Perceived treatment satisfaction in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases treated with biologic therapies: results of a self-reported survey.

Biological agents are widely used for the management of systemic rheumatic diseases (SRDs) and their therapeutic implications have been expanded beyond inflammatory arthropathies to more complicated autoimmune disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, and systemic sclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate treatment satisfaction and overall experience of SRDs' patients receiving biologics as well as to explore patient's perspectives on the quality of services provided by rheumatology departments and to determine factors related to the level of satisfaction. We performed a synchronous correlation study.

Effect of common OPRM1, COMT, SLC6A4, ABCB1, and CYP2B6 polymorphisms on perioperative analgesic and propofol demands on patients subjected to thyroidectomy surgery.

Background: Perioperative anesthetic and/or analgesic demand present considerable variation, and part of that variation appears to be genetic in origin. Here we investigate the impact of common polymorphisms in OPRM1, COMT, SLC6A4, ABCB1, and CYP2B6 genes, on the intra-operative consumption of remifentanil and propofol, as well as the postoperative analgesic needs, in patients subjected to thyroidectomy surgery.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with 90 patients scheduled to undergo elective thyroidectomy, under total intravenous anesthesia achieved by target control infusion (TCI) of propofol and remifentanil.

Relationships Between Resting Energy Expenditure and Transcranial Doppler Measurements in Patients With and Without Brain Death.

Introduction Brain metabolism deteriorates during brain death, suggesting that cerebral metabolic measurements could serve as a prognostic factor. The application of transcranial Doppler can be useful in evaluating patients evolving to brain death. Resting energy expenditure is lower than expected in patients with brain death, and this is caused by the decrease in cerebral blood flow and consequently lower oxygen supply.

Efficacy of branched chain amino acids supplementation in liver cirrhosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Branched chain amino acids' (BCAAs) beneficial role in the management of hepatic encephalopathy is already well established, whereas a number of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have showed promising results examining BCAA supplementation in the management of other aspects of liver cirrhosis. Current results in the light of BCAAs' biochemical properties make them an attractive supplementation option, in addition to standard pharmaceutical treatment of cirrhosis.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current literature and assess the efficacy of BCAA supplementation in patients with liver cirrhosis.

The inhibitory effect of tocilizumab on systemic bone loss and tendon inflammation in a juvenile Collagen-Induced arthritis rat model.

Purpose Of The Study: Reduced Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a prevalent comorbidity in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). Enthesitis and other tendon abnormalities, such as tenosynovitis, tendinitis and tendon ruptures are, also, common extra-articular manifestations of the disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of tocilizumab, an antibody that binds the Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Receptor, on inflammation-related bone loss and tendon inflammation in an animal model of JIA.

Modulation of nociception and pain-evoked neurobehavioral responses by levetiracetam in a craniotomy pain model.

Traditional and novel analgesic modalities have been extensively tested for post-craniotomy pain management, yet the role of newer antiepileptic drugs in this area remains obscure. This study investigates the impact of levetiracetam (LEV) on pain modulation and neurobehavioral performance in a craniotomy model. Fifty-six Wistar rats were randomly assigned into seven groups: no intervention (CTRL), administration of placebo or LEV with no further intervention (PBO and LEV, respectively), and sham-operation or craniotomy in placebo (PBO-SHAM and PBO-CR, respectively) or LEV-treated rats (LEV-SHAM and LEV-CR, respectively).

Analgesic Efficacy and Safety of Local Infiltration Following Lumbar Decompression Surgery: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

This systematic review aims to appraise available clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of wound infiltration with adjuvants to local anesthetics (LAs) for pain control after lumbar spine surgery. A database search was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) pertinent to wound infiltration with analgesics or miscellaneous drugs adjunctive to LAs compared with sole LAs or placebo. The outcomes of interest were postoperative rescue analgesic consumption, pain intensity, time to first analgesic request, and the occurrence of adverse events.

ESCAPE: An Open-Label Trial of Personalized Immunotherapy in Critically lll COVID-19 Patients.

Background: Macrophage activation-like syndrome (MALS) and complex immune dysregulation (CID) often underlie acute respiratory distress (ARDS) in COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the effect of personalized immunotherapy on clinical improvement of critical COVID-19.

Methods: In this open-label prospective trial, 102 patients with ARDS by SARS-CoV-2 were screened for MALS (ferritin >4,420 ng/mL) and CID (ferritin ≤4,420 ng/mL and low human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR expression on CD14-monocytes).

Effects of long-term infliximab and tocilizumab treatment on anxiety-like behavior and cognitive function in naive rats.

Background: Circulating cytokines have been proposed to be implicated in the development of mood disorders and cognitive impairment. This study aims to examine the effect of chronic treatment with infliximab, a tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitor, and tocilizumab, an antibody against interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor on anxiety-like behavior and cognitive function.

Methods: Twenty-eight male, Wistar rats were randomly allocated into negative control, vehicle, infliximab and tocilizumab groups.

Infliximab and Tocilizumab Reduce Anxiety-Like Behaviour and Improve Cognitive Performance in a Juvenile Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rat Model.

Anxiety disorders and cognitive decline are highly prevalent in rheumatic diseases, including Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). In this study, we investigated the effect of long-term treatment with infliximab and tocilizumab on anxiety-like behaviour and cognitive performance in a juvenile collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model. Forty-nine rats with established moderate arthritis were randomly allocated into 7 equal groups: negative control, vehicle, methotrexate, infliximab, tocilizumab, methotrexate + infliximab and methotrexate + tocilizumab groups.

Total Annual Economic Burden of Patients with Sickle Cell Disease in Steady State in Greece.

Sickle cell disease includes a group of congenital hemolytic anemias, all characterized by the predominance of Hb S (: c.20A>T). The population movement due to economic migration or escape from conflict zones will further affect the health systems of countries by either increasing the number of patients or forcing countries to create care units for sickle cell disease patients.

Infliximab and tocilizumab reduce anxiety-like behavior, improve cognitive performance and reverse neuropathological alterations in juvenile rats with severe autoimmune arthritis.

Several studies have demonstrated that rheumatic diseases, including Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), are associated with anxiety-like behavior and a cognitive decline. Infliximab, a Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-a) inhibitor, and tocilizumab, an antibody against Interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, are commonly used in the treatment of JIA. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of infliximab and tocilizumab on anxiety symptoms and cognitive function in a juvenile model of severe autoimmune arthritis.

Effects of Long-Term Methotrexate, Infliximab, and Tocilizumab Administration on Bone Microarchitecture and Tendon Morphology in Healthy Wistar Rats.

Objective Rheumatic diseases are associated with bone loss, both systemic and periarticular, and tendon abnormalities. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of three antiarthritic drugs, methotrexate, an anti-folate metabolite; infliximab, a Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor; and tocilizumab, an antibody against Interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor, on bone microarchitecture and tendon morphology in the absence of an inflammatory state. Materials and methods Thirty-five, 8- to 9-week-old, male, Wistar rats were randomly allocated into five groups: negative control (CTRL), vehicle (VEH), methotrexate (MTX), infliximab (INFX), and tocilizumab (TCZ).