Health sciences review (Oxford, England)最新文献

We aimed to identify community-based interventions to prevent stroke in low-and-middle-income countries. A comprehensive search in Medline through PubMed, Web of Science (core collection), and Scopus was conducted in October, 2021 and updated in August, 2023. Studies published only in English between 1st January, 2000 and August 26, 2023 were included in the review. The screening and data extraction were performed by two reviewers independently. Two authors independently evaluated the included papers' Risk of Bias; we utilized the Cochrane ROB (Risk of Bias) tool for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and non-randomized studies were assessed using ROBANS (Risk of Bias Assessment tool for non-randomized studies). Meta-analysis was not conducted due to the heterogeneity of the included studies in terms of methods and outcomes. A narrative synthesis was performed to report the results. This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (International prospective register of systematic reviews) – CRD 42021283670. A total of six studies were included in the review. Most of the studies highlighted community-based educational intervention to improve knowledge regarding stroke, it's signs, and risk factors. An important component of community-based intervention found in the review was involving community health professionals in educating the local population about health. Educational interventions were found effective in reducing stroke risk factors such as blood pressure, and cholesterol level. To lessen the enormous burden of stroke, effective community-based programs for prevention can be expanded and incorporated into resource-poor health systems.

The impact of long-term exposure to several heavy metals in the environment on general health is causing growing concern. Mercury in particular falls into this category but other heavy metals are less prevalent. Among all heavy metals, mercury is the most toxic. Oxidative stress and dysfunctional mitochondria are brought on by mercury. This causes the inner mitochondrial membrane to depolarize, auto-oxidize, and undergo severe lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial malfunction. Mercury enhances lipid peroxidation, LDL oxidation, and plasma oxLDL complexes while inhibiting glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Chronic mercury exposure (even at very low levels), increases inflammation, oxidative stress, oxidative defense, and nitric oxide bioavailability and stimulates endothelial dysfunction, which increases the risk of CVD and CVA. In the future, more investigations and studies are needed to prevent the patients from mercury toxicity which leads to stroke and other illness.

Driven by the development of innovative electrode materials, the brain-machine interface (BMI) has witnessed significant advancements in recent years. However, traditional implantable electrodes, such as metal-based and polymer-based electrodes, often face limitations in terms of flexibility, chronic stability, and long-term biocompatibility. Liquid metal-based electrodes have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional electrode materials, offering unique properties and numerous advantages for BMI applications. In this Review, we provided an in-depth overview of liquid metal-based electrodes. Liquid metal-based electrodes demonstrate several desirable features, including high electrical conductivity, flexibility, biocompatibility, and the ability to conform to the irregular and delicate structures of the brain. We also systematically and thematically discussed their material properties, biocompatibility considerations, performance characteristics, and assorted applications in neural recording, stimulation, brain-machine interfaces, closed-loop feedback systems, and neuroprosthetics. Meanwhile, long-term stability, biocompatibility, electrode-tissue interface, miniaturization, signal processing, and ethical considerations are areas that require further research and innovation. Addressing these challenges will contribute to the successful integration and widespread use of liquid metal-based electrodes in BMI systems.

Purpose

Statins are the cornerstone therapy for primary or secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, a significant portion of patients are intolerant to statin or show inadequate lipid-lowering. Bempedoic acid (BA) has been shown to decrease low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in clinical trials. However, the evidence on the effect of BA on clinical cardiovascular outcomes was limited until the CLEAR Outcomes trial. Thus, to fully appraise the available data, we performed this meta-analysis.

Methods

PubMed, Pubmed Central, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched for relevant articles published before May 1, 2023. Pertinent data from the included studies were extracted and analyzed using RevMan v5.4.

Results

Out of 2209 studies evaluated, five randomized control trials with 17,384 patients with established ASCVD or at high risk of ASCVD were included for analysis. The BA therapy reduced major adverse cardiovascular events (OR 0.85, CI 0.77-0.93; <0.0001), non-fatal myocardial infarction (OR 0.75, 95 % CI 0.64-0.88; p <0.0001), hospitalization for unstable angina (OR 0.69, CI 0.53-0.89; p = 0.005) and coronary revascularization (OR 0.80, CI 0.61-0.91; <0.0001) significantly without decreasing the risk of all-cause death (OR 1.19, CI 0.73-1.94; p = 0.49), cardiovascular death (OR 1.04, CI 0.87-1.25; p = 0.68) and non-fatal stroke (OR 0.84, CI 0.66-1.06; p = 0.15).

Conclusion

Based on our analysis the bempedoic acid addition to therapy reduced cardiovascular events in selective patients who are either intolerant to statins or do not achieve recommended LDL-C levels despite being on a maximum dose of statins and/or ezetimibe.

As the incidence rate of breast cancer is increasing at an alarming rate these days, this is leading to an increase in the use of chemotherapy drugs. Here we used a systematic review to identify studies that reported adverse events related to chemotherapy and its management. We searched PubMed Central, Cochrane Library, Research Gate, Sci-Hub, and Web of Knowledge for relevant references. We included data from 1978 to 2021 in our analysis. Additionally, in this review, we have attempted to elucidate how cancer chemotherapy has affected the mind and body of the cancer survivor. We also provided insight into the adjuvant therapies that enable survivors to lead quality lives. Due to incomplete knowledge and sometimes fear of adverse effects, patients are reluctant to undergo cancer treatment. Combining cancer drugs with those that overcome associated side effects is a promising area for better patient outcomes.

This study aims to provide an integrative literature review of what characterizes the antecedents, experiences, and outcomes of nursing students’ and nurses’ workplace hazing experiences. The review combines theoretical and empirical studies of workplace hazing, nursing students, and newly graduated nurses’ transition experiences. An electronic database search was performed in CINAHL, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PUBMED, Scopus, and Web of Science. Fifty-five papers collecting data from 8,131 respondents (1,733 nursing students and 80 newly graduated nurses) published from 1968 to 2023 and reporting on research occurring in a non-virtual workplace setting, were synthesized and analyzed using thematic coding. The study found that nursing students and new nurses are typically exposed to segregation and person- and work-based workplace hazing by their experienced colleagues during the transition, adversely affecting their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being and relational quality expectations. Applying the workplace hazing perspective to the nursing literature on newcomers’ transition experiences contributes to a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon and its underlying motivation and illuminates its ambiguous moral character. Furthermore, despite prioritizing the group's welfare above that of the newcomer, hazing's adverse individual outcomes might ultimately damage the workgroup and organization and contribute to a further nursing shortage.

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is classified into nodular sclerosis (NS), mixed cellularity (MC), lymphocyte rich (LR), and lymphocyte depleted (LD) histologic subtypes. Epidemiologic studies demonstrate remarkable diversity of subtype distribution among geographical regions and socioeconomic conditions. However, previous research has not examined the statistical correlation between subtypes’ proportion of cases among countries and socioeconomic factors, reported through a standardized parameter as the Human Development Index (HDI). Our aim was to analyze cHL histologic subtypes' frequency patterns among geographic regions and establish a correlation with countries' socioeconomic conditions.

We conducted a systematic review in national registries, population-based reports and multicenter studies addressing histologic subtype frequency in different countries from 1980 to 2021. We evaluated 26,174 cHL patients from 27 countries among five geographic regions. For each cHL subtype, we calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient, determination coefficient and created scatter plots.

North and Central America and Europe were the regions with the highest overall proportion of NS cases, while East and South Asia and Africa had the highest proportion of MC and LD cases. A significant positive correlation was confirmed between NS proportion of cases among countries and a higher HDI (R²=0.33, r = 0.57, p<0.001). Conversely, a negative correlation was found between MC and LD subtype proportion of cases and a higher HDI (R²=0.35, r=-0.59, p<0.001 for MC and R²=0.08, r=-0.29, p>0.05 for LD). LR subtype distribution showed no correlation with HDI (R² <0.00001, r = 0.002, and p>0.05).

Early Epstein-Barr virus infection, host-related factors (as an altered immune response, nutritional status), human immunodeficiency virus infection, among other factors could explain these differences. Understanding cHL distribution patterns and their underlying causes, could allow to create public health interventions to improve social determinants of health in developing countries.

Colon cancer remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Given its widespread prevalence, the identification of new anticancer drugs is crucial. Medicinal plants have provided many natural products that have proven to be successful anticancer drugs in clinical use and have shown significant efficacy. Over the last decade, researchers have gathered significant information regarding the contribution of gut microbiota to the development and progression of colon cancer. Manipulating the gut microbiota to reverse microbial dysbiosis is an innovative strategy for addressing human diseases and intestinal disorders. Recent scientific findings have shown that this approach has a significant positive impact on the prevention and treatment of colon cancer. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental concepts related to intestinal microbiota and dysbiosis, as well as the interactions between microbiota and phytochemicals that can affect the bioavailability and bioactivity of these compounds. The primary components of the gut, including carbohydrates, enzymes, lipids, vitamins, and secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and terpenoids, can activate gut dysbiosis. While these strategies show promising outcomes by rectifying microbiota proportion, modifying innate immune systems, emphasizing gut barrier operation, inhibiting pathogen colonization, and exhibiting selective cytotoxicity against colon cancer cells, further research is necessary to fully understand their mechanisms of action. This review also highlights the relationship between medicinal plants, gut microbiota, and colon cancer, which may lead to the development and clinical translation of potential microbiota-based strategies for cancer prevention.