Assessment and characteristics of Erenumab therapy on migraine management

BackgroundMigraine is one of the neurological diseases that have a negative impact on subjects’ productivity and daily activity of patients. Introducing monoclonal antibodies as a valuable option for resolving the persistent problem of migraine is still under investigation. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety profile related to Erenumab.MethodsA prospective study for clinical data collection and analysis from recruited therapy-refractory migraine subjects were carried through 6 months for each subject. All subjects received Erenumab 70 mg monthly. Each patient provided the clinical data monthly starting from 0 months and for the next 6 months. Migraine disability assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire was used for evaluation of the Erenumab efficacy every 3 months. In addition, data regarding adverse effects, migraine triggers, and the impact of previous COVID-19 on migraine severity were collected and analyzed.ResultsNinety subjects were recruited in the study. Erenumab injections resulted in a significant (p < 0.001) reduction in MIDAS score in the 3rd month compared with baseline, also this significance was continuous in the 6th month. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the 6th month compared with the 3rd. Previously infected COVID-19 subjects showed a higher severity of migraine attacks compared with non-infected subjects. Skin redness and local pain were the most common adverse effects 63.3%, 47.77% respectively associated with Erenumab.ConclusionUsing Erenumab therapy showed a great beneficial impact regarding the reduction of migraine-related disabilities. COVID-19 was related to the increased severity of migraine attacks.     

Process evaluation of implementation strategies to reduce potentially inappropriate medication prescribing in older population: A scoping review

ObjectivesSeveral implementation strategies can reduce potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) prescribing. Although use of PIMs has declined in recent years, it remains prevalent. Various strategies exist to improve the appropriateness of medication use. However, little is known about the processes of these different implementation strategies. This scoping review aims to investigate how the process evaluation of implementation strategies for reducing PIM prescribing in the older population has been studied.MethodsWe searched for process evaluations of implementation strategies for reducing PIM prescribing in PUBMED, SCOPUS and Web of Science published between January 2000 and November 2019 in English. We applied the following inclusion criteria: patients aged ≥65 years, validated PIM criteria, and implementation process evaluated. The review focuses on decision support for health care professionals. We described the findings of the process evaluations, and compared the authors’ concepts of process evaluation of the included publications to those of Proctor et al.( 2010).ResultOf 9131 publications screened, 29 met our inclusion criteria. Different process evaluation conceptualizations were identified. Most process evaluations took place in the initial stages of the process (acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, and feasibility) and sustainability and implementation costs were seldom evaluated. None of the included publications evaluated fidelity.Multifaceted interventions were the most studied implementation strategies. Medication review was more common in acceptability evaluations, multidisciplinary interventions in adoption evaluations, and computerized systems and educational interventions in feasibility evaluations. Process evaluations were studied from the health care professionals’ viewpoint in most of the included publications, but the management viewpoint was missing.DiscussionThe conceptualization of process evaluation in the field of PIM prescribing is indeterminate. There is also a current gap in the knowledge of sustainability and implementation costs. Clarifying the conceptualization of implementation process evaluation is essential in order to effectively translate research knowledge into practice.     

Static and dynamic postural control of postpartum women of different delivery methods

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in postural control between nulligravida women and women who have given birth by vaginal or cesarean section.MethodsWomen who had only vaginal delivery in the previous 1–3 years were included in the vaginal delivery group (n = 27), those who had only cesarean delivery in the previous 1–3 years were included in the cesarean section group (n = 28), and those who had never given birth were included in the control group (n = 32). Evaluations were administered 6–8 days after the ovulation phase. Postural control of the participants was evaluated with the computerized dynamic posturography device.ResultsA total of 87 women with a mean age of 29.4 ± 4 years and a mean body mass index of 24.1 ± 3.1 kg/m² were included in the study. Antero-posterior somatosensory organization test values of the vaginal delivery group were lower than the control group (p = 0.0016). The cesarean delivery group had statistically lower antero-posterior somatosensory (p < 0.001 and p = 0.0013) and medio-lateral somatosensory (p = 0.002 and p = 0.017, respectively) test scores compared to the control group and the vaginal delivery group.ConclusionsIt was observed that women who birthed with vaginal or cesarean delivery had impaired somatosensory postural control. There is definitely a need for further studies with a long-term follow-up examining the effects of postural control during pregnancy and the postpartum period.     

MCI的情志病机及疏肝法干预的可行性探讨＊

轻度认知障碍（Mild cognition impairment， MCI）是尚未达到阿尔兹海默病（Alzheimer’s disease， AD）的诊断标准且可逆转为正常脑老化状态的最佳窗口期。情志异常、肝失疏泄（肝失疏泄日久致肝郁）已被证实为MCI的重要情志病机，且“长期负性情绪积累肝失疏泄致衰加速脑老化”的科学假说已在本课题组前期研究中得到初步证实，疏肝法干预肝郁型MCI患者疗效显著，但以上作用机制尚未得到完全阐述。因此本研究系统总结了中医学对MCI的认识，长期情绪不调肝失疏泄对MCI的影响及可能机制，疏肝解郁方药及其成分改善肝郁型MCI的可行性，并提出使用无束缚性设计的眼动技术以探索疏肝法改善肝郁型MCI的可行性，为MCI的中医药干预及其神经机制探讨提供新思路，为中医情志衰老学说增添新内涵。