Minimally Invasive Treatments for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

PurposeTo review and to compare indirectly the outcomes of minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia.Materials and MethodsA literature search via Medline and Cochrane Central databases was completed for randomized control studies published between January 2000 to April 2020 for the following therapies: Rezum, Urolift, Aquablation, and prostatic artery embolization (PAE). Data on the following variables were included: International prostate symptom score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow rate, quality of life, and postvoid residual (PVR). Standard mean differences between treatments were compared through a meta-analysis using transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) to assess differences in treatment effect.ResultsThere was no significant difference in outcomes between therapies for IPSS at the 3, 6, and 12-month follow ups. Although outcomes for Rezum were only available out to 3 months, there were no consistently significant differences in outcomes when comparing Aquablation versus PAE versus Rezum. TURP PVR was significantly better than Urolift at 3, 6, and 12 months. No significant differences in minor or major adverse events were noted.ConclusionAlthough significant differences in outcomes were limited, Aquablation and PAE were the most durable at 12 months. PAE has been well studied on multiple randomized control trials with minimal adverse events while Aquablation has limited high quality data and has been associated with bleeding-related complications.     

Electroconvulsive therapy plays an irreplaceable role in treatment of major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is a serious and common neuropsychiatric disorder that affects more than 350 million people worldwide. Electroconvulsive therapy is the oldest and most effective treatment available for the treatment of severe major depressive disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy modifies structural network changes in patients with major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. And it can also affect neuroinflammatory responses and may have neuroprotective effects. Electroconvulsive therapy plays an irreplaceable role in the treatment of major depressive disorder.     

Simeprevir added to peginterferon and ribavirin lessens time with fatigue,depressive symptoms and functional limitations in patients with chronic hepatitis C compared with peginterferon and ribavirin: results from 1161 patients in the QUEST‐1, QUEST‐2 and PROMISE studies

The value of adding simeprevir (SMV) vs placebo (PBO) to peginterferon and ribavirin (PR) for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection was examined using patient‐reported outcomes (PROs); further, concordance of PROs with virology endpoints and adverse events (AEs) was explored. Patients (n = 768 SMV/PR, n = 393 PBO/PR) rated fatigue (FSS), depressive symptoms (CES‐D) and functional impairment (WPAI: Hepatitis C Productivity, Daily Activity and Absenteeism) at baseline and throughout treatment in three randomised, double‐blind trials comparing the addition of SMV or PBO during initial 12 weeks of PR. PR was administered for 48 weeks (PBO group) and 24/48 weeks (SMV group) using a response‐guided therapy (RGT) approach. Mean PRO scores (except Absenteeism) worsened from baseline to Week 4 to the same extent in both groups but reverted after Week 24 for SMV/PR and only after Week 48 for PBO/PR. Accordingly, there was a significantly lower area under the curve (baseline–Week 60, AUC₆₀) and fewer weeks with clinically important worsening of scores in the SMV/PR group at any time point. Incidences of patients with fatigue and anaemia AEs were similar in both groups, but FSS scores showed that clinically important increases in fatigue lasted a mean of 6.9 weeks longer with PBO/PR (P < 0.001). PRO score subgroup analysis indicated better outcomes for patients who met the criteria for RGT or achieved sustained virological response 12 weeks post‐treatment (SVR12); differences in mean PRO scores associated with fibrosis level were only observed with PBO/PR. Greater efficacy of SMV/PR enabled reduced treatment duration and reduced time with PR‐related AEs without adding to AE severity.     

Automated classification of depression from structural brain measures across two independent community‐based cohorts

Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been the subject of many neuroimaging case–control classification studies. Although some studies report accuracies ≥80%, most have investigated relatively small samples of clinically‐ascertained, currently symptomatic cases, and did not attempt replication in larger samples. We here first aimed to replicate previously reported classification accuracies in a small, well‐phenotyped community‐based group of current MDD cases with clinical interview‐based diagnoses (from STratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally cohort, ‘STRADL’). We performed a set of exploratory predictive classification analyses with measures related to brain morphometry and white matter integrity. We applied three classifier types—SVM, penalised logistic regression or decision tree—either with or without optimisation, and with or without feature selection. We then determined whether similar accuracies could be replicated in a larger independent population‐based sample with self‐reported current depression (UK Biobank cohort). Additional analyses extended to lifetime MDD diagnoses—remitted MDD in STRADL, and lifetime‐experienced MDD in UK Biobank. The highest cross‐validation accuracy (75%) was achieved in the initial current MDD sample with a decision tree classifier and cortical surface area features. The most frequently selected decision tree split variables included surface areas of bilateral caudal anterior cingulate, left lingual gyrus, left superior frontal, right precentral and paracentral regions. High accuracy was not achieved in the larger samples with self‐reported current depression (53.73%), with remitted MDD (57.48%), or with lifetime‐experienced MDD (52.68–60.29%). Our results indicate that high predictive classification accuracies may not immediately translate to larger samples with broader criteria for depression, and may not be robust across different classification approaches.     

耳穴贴压联合俞募配穴针刺治疗中风后便秘疗效观察

目的观察耳穴贴压联合俞募配穴针刺治疗中风后便秘(虚秘)的临床疗效。方法将80例中风后便秘(虚秘)患者随机分为治疗组40例、对照组40例。在中风常规治疗、护理及康复训练下,治疗组采用耳穴贴压联合俞募配穴针刺,对照组采用普通针刺法。对两组患者临床疗效、便秘症状积分、胃肠激素水平及生存质量进行比较。结果两组治疗后胃肠激素P物质(SP)水平及便秘患者生存质量量表(PAC-QOL)评分均有显著提高(P<0.01),且治疗组治疗后明显高于对照组(P<0.01),两组治疗后便秘症状积分、胃肠激素血管活性肠肽(VIP)水平均显著降低(P<0.01),且治疗组治疗后低于对照组(P<0.01)。治疗组总有效率为87.5%,两组疗效比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论耳穴贴压联合俞募配穴针刺治疗中风后便秘(虚秘)具有良好疗效。     

心达康滴丸联合地尔硫卓治疗冠心病心绞痛的临床研究

目的探讨心达康滴丸联合盐酸地尔硫卓片治疗冠心病心绞痛的临床疗效。方法选择2018年7月—2019年7月在武汉市江夏区中医医院治疗的冠心病心绞痛患者94例,根据用药的差别分成对照组(47例)和治疗组(47例)。对照组口服盐酸地尔硫卓片,30mg/次,3次/d;治疗组在对照组基础上口服心达康滴丸,18粒/次,3次/d。两组患者均经4周治疗。观察两组患者临床疗效,同时比较治疗前后两组患者心绞痛发作次数和持续时间,临床症状积分、SAQ和GQOLI-74评分,血清C反应蛋白(CRP)、S100钙结合蛋白A12(S100A12)、白细胞介素-18(IL-18)、妊娠相关血清蛋白A(PAPP-A)、内皮素-1(ET-1)和肌钙蛋白I(CTnI)水平及心功能。结果治疗后,对照组和治疗组临床有效率分别为80.85%和97.87%,两组比较差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗后,两组患者心绞痛发作次数及持续时间都显著改善降低(P0.05),且治疗组比对照组改善更显著(P0.05)。治疗后,两组患者SAQ积分和GQOLI-74评分均明显升高,而临床症状积分明显降低(P0.05),且治疗组这些评分明显好于对照组(P0.05)。治疗后,两组患者血清CRP、S100A12、IL-18、PAPP-A、ET-1、CTnI水平均明显降低(P0.05),且治疗组明显低于对照组(P0.05)。治疗后,两组患者左心室射血分数(LVEF)和心排血量(CO)均升高,而左室收缩末期内径(LVESD)明显降低(P0.05),且治疗组LVEF、CO和LVESD比对照组改善更明显(P0.05)。结论心达康滴丸联合盐酸地尔硫卓片治疗冠心病心绞痛可明显改善患者临床症状,改善生活质量,具有一定的临床推广应用价值。     

Neuromodulation in Psychiatric disorders: Experimental and Clinical evidence for reward and motivation network Deep Brain Stimulation: Focus on the medial forebrain bundle

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in psychiatric illnesses has been clinically tested over the past 20 years. The clinical application of DBS to the superolateral branch of the medial forebrain bundle in treatment‐resistant depressed patients—one of several targets under investigation—has shown to be promising in a number of uncontrolled open label trials. However, there are remain numerous questions that need to be investigated to understand and optimize the clinical use of DBS in depression, including, for example, the relationship between the symptoms, the biological substrates/projections and the stimulation itself. In the context of precision and customized medicine, the current paper focuses on clinical and experimental research of medial forebrain bundle DBS in depression or in animal models of depression, demonstrating how clinical and scientific progress can work in tandem to test the therapeutic value and investigate the mechanisms of this experimental treatment. As one of the hypotheses is that depression engenders changes in the reward and motivational networks, the review looks at how stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle impacts the dopaminergic system.