RESUMO
Patients with major presentations of alopecia experience physically harmful effects and psychological comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety. Oral minoxidil (OM) has been suggested by dermatologists as a potential remedy; however, its effectiveness remains unclear. This systematic review aims to collate published studies and to analyze the effect of OM among patients diagnosed with any type of alopecia. For this systematic review, Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, Web of Sciences, and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Information System were searched for relevant studies from inception to September 21, 2019. Of 1960 studies retrieved in several electronic databases and three additional records identified though reference list from potentially eligible studies, nine studies (one randomized controlled trial and eight nonrandomized controlled trials) met the requirements and were used in our analysis. Although we found positive effects in favor of OM, this should be interpreted cautiously due to very low quality of the evidence of outcomes in the selected studies. Definitive conclusions are not possible without high-quality trials. This review has highlighted the absence of high-quality randomized controlled trials evaluating OM in the treatment of various types of alopecia. Given the mild adverse events of OM, future studies should also analyze doses and duration to maximize efficacy and decrease side effects.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Walnut intake is considered a healthy dietary approach worldwide, particularly as a nutritional tool for the management of obesity and cardiometabolic disorders. Among these lines, leptin and adiponectin, as well as glycemic biomarkers, deserve further attention. We aimed to examine the impact of walnut intake on circulation levels of leptin and adiponectin through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs); secondarily, assessing the glycemic profile as well. METHODS: The literature search was implemented in four following databases: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Google Scholar, thus, determining studies that measured the effects of walnut consumption on adiponectin, leptin, and glycemic biomarkers levels from 2004 up to December 2019. RESULTS: Fourteen trials were include in the meta-analysis, with an intervention period ranging from 5 weeks to 12 months.Walnut intake increased leptin (weighted mean difference (WMD): 2.502 ng/mL; 95 % CI: 2.147-2.856, p < 0.001) and adiponectin (WMD: 0.440 ng/mL; 95 % CI: 0.323 to 0.557, p < 0.001) levels. Pertaining to glycemic biomarkers, neither overall analyses nor sub-analyses corroborated with changes in fasting blood glucose (WMD: 0.500 mg/dL, 95 % CI: -0.596, 1.596, p = 0.371), insulin (WMD: -0.21 mg/dL, 95 % CI: -0.67, 0.24, p = 0.367), and glycated hemoglobin (WMD: 0.004 mg/dL, 95 % CI: -0.041, 0.049, p = 0.870) concentrations. CONCLUSION: Walnut intake may increase leptin and adiponectin levels but does not improve glycemic biomarkers.