BACKGROUND We combined the outcomes of all randomised controlled trials to investigate the safety and efficacy of steroid avoidance or withdrawal (SAW) regimens in paediatric kidney transplantation compared with steroid-based (SB) regimens. METHODS A systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, the trials registry and BIOSIS previews was performed. A change in the height ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the global prevalence of handwashing with soap and derive a pooled estimate of the effect of hygiene on diarrhoeal diseases, based on a systematic search of the literature. METHODS Studies with data on observed rates of handwashing with soap published between 1990 and August 2013 were identified from a systematic search of PubMed, Embase and ISI Web of Knowledge. A separ...

Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury exposures are ubiquitous. These toxic elements have no physiological benefits, engendering interest in minimizing body burden. The physiological process of sweating has long been regarded as "cleansing" and of low risk. Reports of toxicant levels in sweat were sought in Medline, Embase, Toxline, Biosis, and AMED as well as reference lists and grey literature,...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased exponentially in recent years, with 100 million people expected to develop diabetes in the coming 15 years. The impact of medical therapy on the incidence of new onset DM is not clear. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the impact of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin recepto...

BACKGROUND Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables has been considered to be associated with a reduced risk of dementia and age-associated cognitive decline, although the association is currently unsupported by a systematic review of the literature. METHODS We searched Medline, Embase, Biosis, ALOIS, the Cochrane library, different publisher databases as well as bibliographies of retrieve...

CONTEXT A history of depression may increase risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD) later in life. Clarifying this relation might improve understanding of risk factors for and disease mechanisms in AD. OBJECTIVE To systematically review and complete a meta-analysis on the relation of depression and AD. DATA SOURCES We conducted electronic bibliographic searches of MEDLINE, PsychLit, EMB...

Introduction Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects about 9.4% (6.4 million) children in the United States. Pharmacological treatment, including stimulants, is a known therapy for ADHD. However, its possible subtherapeutic effectiveness, residual symptoms, and adverse effects have prompted us to explore current evidence of Yoga as an add-on that has shown synergistic recent stu...

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis is the most common degenerative joint disease. It associated with significant socioeconomic burden and poor quality of life, mainly due to knee osteoarthritis (KOA), related total arthroplasty (TKA). Since early detection method disease-modifying drug lacking, key KOA treatment shifting disease prevention progression slowing. The prognostic prediction models a...

BACKGROUND Our goal was to perform a systematic review of the literature on the use of modern inhalational anesthetic agents for refractory status epilepticus and their impact on seizure control. METHODS All articles from MEDLINE, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Global Health, HealthStar, Scopus, Cochrane Library, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (inception to March 2014), reference lists ...

BACKGROUND Chronic depression represents a substantial portion of depressive disorders and is associated with severe consequences. This review examined whether the combination of pharmacological treatments and psychotherapy is associated with higher effectiveness than pharmacotherapy alone via meta-analysis; and identified possible treatment effect modifiers via meta-regression-analysis. METH...