Effect of fractional laser alone or in combination on alopecia areata: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is characterized by limited non-scarring patchy alopecia, which appears as round or oval patches and is prone to recurrence, causing severe psychological burdens to patients. No specific device has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of baldness, but new treatments are being investigated and treatments such as the excimer laser, He- Ne laser, and excimer lamp have been proposed. A growing number of studies have found that fractional lasers also have great potential in the treatment of AA. METHODS: A literature search and meta-analysis using Review Manager 5.4 software to investigate the efficacy of fractional laser treatment for AA. RESULTS: Fractional laser combined with minoxidil (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.17-1.49, p < 0.00001) or cortisol (RR 1.39, 95% CI 1.15-1.67, p = 0.00006) was more effective than either drug alone in the treatment of AA. Of course, the fractional laser alone was also effective in the treatment of AA (RR 10.33, 95% CI 2.07-51.36, p = 0.004) and more effective than cortisol alone (RR 1.86, 95% CI 1.36-2.52, p < 0.00001), and there was no effect on the occurrence of adverse effects (p = 0.49 > 0.05). When compared to other physical treatments of a comparable kind, fractional laser therapy's effectiveness was not significantly different (p = 0.15 > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results show that the use of fractional lasers can effectively treat alopecia areata.

Health benefits of spices in individuals with chemotherapeutic drug-induced cardiotoxicity.

Cardio-oncology is an emerging field that mainly focuses on a series of cardiovascular diseases caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the history and culture of human nutrition, spices have been emphasized for their wide range of economic and medical applications in addition to being used as a food-flavoring agent and food preservative. Currently, an increasing number of studies have focused on the health benefits of spices in preventing cardiovascular diseases, particularly their antioxidant effects against cardiovascular damage. This review summarizes the cardioprotective effects of black pepper, cardamom, clove, garlic, ginger, onion, and other spices against chemotherapeutic drug-induced cardiotoxicity and the potential mechanisms. Here, we recommend dietary adjustments with spices for patients with cancer to prevent or mitigate the cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapeutic agents.

[Real world use of statins for secondary prevention in patients with high risk coronary heart disease in China].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the real world statins use for secondary prevention in patients with high risk coronary heart disease (CHD) in China. METHODS: Sixty-four hospitals across 31 provinces of China including 32 secondary hospitals and 32 tertiary hospitals were selected for baseline survey. Fifty consecutive outpatients with established history of acute coronary syndrome were recruited in each hospital. Information of these patients including statins use was collected. RESULTS: A total of 2516 high risk CHD outpatients were involved in present report. Mean age of the patients was (65 ± 10) years and 69.4% patients were male. Fifty-seven point nine percent patients were treated with a statin at the time of interview and recommended low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) target was achieved in 29.8% patients. Percent of statin use and achieving LDL-C goal was significantly higher in male outpatients than in female outpatients. Outpatients admitted in tertiary hospitals were more likely to have achieved their LDL-C targets than those admitted in secondary hospitals. Statin use was more often for patients in South China than patients in North China. The percentage reaching the optimal LDL-C treatment target was the highest in Central China (38.5%) and the lowest in Northeast China (18.5%). At this interview, 68.2% outpatients were prescribed statins and 24.1% prescribed doses of statins were sub-minimal. CONCLUSION: There was a gap between real world statin use and guideline recommendations for secondary prevention in high risk CHD patients in China.

Therapeutic efficacy and safety of Kangfuxin in combination with rabeprazole in the treatment of peptic ulcer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Kangfuxin (KFX), a well-known Chinese patent medicine which extracted from Periplaneta americana, is widely used as an adjuvant in the treatment of peptic ulcers (PUs) with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as rabeprazole, in China. However, no clear consensus has been reached on the efficacy for PU treatment. METHODS: We searched in 7 electronic databases to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) completed before May 31, 2020 to explore the clinical efficiency of KFX plus rabeprazole in the treatment of PU. Risk ratio (RR) corresponding to 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to estimate the outcomes. Publication bias was assessed by both Egger's and Begg's tests. Statistical analyses were performed using RevMan 5.4 and Stata version 10.0. RESULTS: Twenty-five RCTs, comprising 2555 PU patients, were included in this study. Meta-analysis showed that, when compared with rabeprazole-based treatment alone, KFX plus rabeprazole significantly improved the healing rate (RR = 1.34, 95% CI 1.25-1.44) and overall response rate of ulcers (RR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.13-1.20), alleviated the clinical symptoms of PU (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.08-1.21), and reduced the recurrence of PU (RR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.24-0.61) without an increase in the occurrence of adverse events (RR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.66-1.28). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that KFX combined with rabeprazole showed positive therapeutic effects and is safe for treating PU, which may provide more reliable evidence for the clinical use of KFX in the treatment of PU.

[The present status of the use of aspirin for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the current status of the use of aspirin among outpatients with established coronary heart disease (CHD) in China. METHODS: Sixty-four hospitals across 31 provinces of China, including 32 secondary hospitals and 32 tertiary hospitals were selected for a baseline survey. Fifty outpatients with history of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were recruited consecutively in each hospital. Information of these patients was collected and the situation of aspirin use among the patients was analyzed. RESULTS: There totally 2781 CHD outpatients were recruited with complete data. Mean age of the patients was 65 +/- 10. Sixty-nine percent of the patients was males and 31% was females. The utilization rate of aspirin before this clinical visit was 83.6%. There were significant difference among regions and hospitals. The utilization rate of aspirin was 64.2% and 97.8% respectively in the two provinces with the lowest use rate and the highest use rate. Use rates of aspirin in CHD outpatients varied from 29.4% to 98%among 64 hospitals. The male CHD patients had higher use rate than the female patients did (85.1% vs. 80.4%, P < 0.01). There also was notable difference in prescribed dose of aspirin among regions and hospitals. An analysis of multiple logistic regression model revealed that gender, age, monthly income, history of PCI and onset time of the previous ACS event were independently associated with the utilization status of aspirin in these outpatients. CONCLUSIONS: The overall utilization rate of aspirin in CHD outpatients reached to 83.6%, but remarkable differences in aspirin use existed among regions, hospitals and patients with different characteristics in current clinical practice in China.