Morvarid Irani; Ali Saberi; Zahra shojaeian; Mohamad Ghorbani; Nahid Maleki
Abstract
Background: Uterine fibroids or Leiomyoma (UFs) are one of a common problem that affects the quality of life in women. Recently use of vitamin D for treating Leiomyoma has been considered. Study's PurposeThis Systematic Review was performed with aim to evaluate the current evidence for the efficacy of ...
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Background: Uterine fibroids or Leiomyoma (UFs) are one of a common problem that affects the quality of life in women. Recently use of vitamin D for treating Leiomyoma has been considered. Study's PurposeThis Systematic Review was performed with aim to evaluate the current evidence for the efficacy of vitamin D in treating uterine fibroids.Methods: Relevant studies were identified from the following Electronic searching of Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of science, SID and Google Scholar up to Feb 2021. Inclusion criteria consist of Both English and Persian, published, clinical trials using vitamin D as medical for treatment of uterine fibroids. In the long run four RCTs met the inclusion criteria. The quality of these trials was evaluated by two researchers who carried out the data extraction, using Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine checklist. Statistical analysis was performed by Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) Version 2. To assess the publication bias and heterogeneity, Egger’s and Begg’s tests and I2 were used, respectively. In addition, the Random effects model was employed to perform the meta-analysis. Findings: The heterogeneity in the studies was determined as 95.17% (p<0.000). There was publication bias among the studies included; the p-values of Egger’s and Begg’s tests were 0.05 and 0.05, respectively. The effects of Vit D on UFs was statistically significant [mean difference (MD) =2.88; 95% confidence interval (CI): (4.72-1.044); p<0.002]. Conclusion: Vitamin D for treating uterine fibroids can be an effective method, but more studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Amir Ghaderi; Anna Bussu; Catherine Tsang; Sadegh Jafarnejad
Abstract
Background and objective: N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of L-cysteine with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neurotropic effects, is a promising agent in alleviating symptoms associated with schizophrenia. However, the role of NAC on parameters of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) ...
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Background and objective: N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of L-cysteine with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neurotropic effects, is a promising agent in alleviating symptoms associated with schizophrenia. However, the role of NAC on parameters of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) remain uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the effect of NAC on parameters of PANSS in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods: We searchedPubmed/MEDLINE™, PsycNET™, PsycLIT™, Scopus™ and Google Scholar™ for studies on the effect of NAC on PANSS in patients with schizophrenia from inception to March 2019. We adopted medical and non-medical subjects headings (MeSH, non-MeSH) and several keywords, including “NAC”, “N-acetylcysteine”, “N-acetyl cysteine”, “Acetylcysteine”, “N-Acetyl-L-cysteine”, “schizophrenia”, “psychotic disorder”, “psychosis”, “schizoaffective” and “dementia praecox”. Results: We identified seven trials with274 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, with follow up between 8-52 weeks, and NAC supplementation between 1200-3600 mg/day. Significant improvements in PANSS were identified following NAC for total (SMD=-0.61, 95% CI = -0.91, -0.31 ; p <0.001), general (SMD = -0.58; 95% CI = -0.90, -0.26; P=0.0004); and negative (SMD = -0.56; 95% CI = -0.92, -0.21; P = 0.001) scores, respectively. No significant heterogeneity was found among studies. Significant reductions were observed following sub-group analysis in trials ≤ 24 weeks duration, with appreciable effect size for total (SMD= -0.83), general (SMD= -0.67) and negative (SMD=-1.09) scores. Conclusion: Supplementation of NAC was effective in alleviating PANSS symptoms associated with schizophrenia in trials ≤ 24 weeks duration. The use of NAC as an adjunct seems promising and further investigation is warranted to determine its precise role.