Multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Comorbidity is a current area of interest in multiple sclerosis (MS) and is essential for multidisciplinary management. Although recent studies suggest that patients with MS have an elevated risk of developing inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the overall risk of developing ulcerative colitis (UC), specifically in patients with MS. Methods: In 2021, a comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science to identify studies investigating the association between UC and MS. The selected papers were utilized to estimate the associations, risk ratios (RRs), and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The analysis revealed a slightly elevated risk of UC incidence in patients with MS compared to controls, but this finding was not statistically significant (RR: 1.27 [95% CI: 0.96-1.67]). In contrast, the study found that patients with UC have a significantly higher risk of developing MS than controls (RR: 1.66 [95% CI: 1.15-2.40]). Conclusion: Our findings highlight that the presence of UC increases the risk of developing MS by more than 50%, whereas the presence of MS does not increase the risk of UC occurrence. These results underscore the importance of considering the potential development of UC in the clinical management and early diagnosis of patients with MS, as it may contribute to better therapeutic outcomes.

Effects of Epothilone Administration on Locomotion Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies.

This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing evidence regarding the possible effects of epothilones on spinal cord injury (SCI). This study aimed to investigate the possible effects of epothilone administration on locomotion recovery in animal models of SCI. Despite increasing rates of SCI and its burden on populations, no consensus has been reached about the possible treatment modality for SCI. Meanwhile, low-dose epothilones have been reported to have positive effects on SCI outcomes. Electronic databases of Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Medline were searched using keywords related to epothilones and SCI until the end of 2020. Two researchers screened the articles, and extracted data were analyzed using STATA ver. 14.0. Final results are reported as a standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). After the screening, five studies were included in the analysis. Rats were used in all the studies. Two types of epothilones were used via intraperitoneal injection and were shown to have positive effects on the motor outcomes of samples with SCI (SMD, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.51 to 1.23; p =0.71). Although a slightly better effect was observed when using epothilone B, the difference was not significant (coefficient, -0.50; 95% CI, -1.52 to 0.52; p =0.246). The results of this study suggest that epothilones have positive effects on the improvement of motor function in rats, when administered intraperitoneally until a maximum of 1 day after SCI. However, current evidence regarding the matter is still scarce.

Prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) in patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) is insufficiently understood and controversially reported. This study focused on providing a better understanding of the prevalence of TN in MS patients. METHOD: We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify studies published from January 1, 1990, to December 30, 2020. We included studies reporting the TN prevalence among MS patients and exclude case reports/series and editorial studies, review studies, and non-English written articles. We used pooled prevalence estimates to determine the TN prevalence among MS patients. RESULTS: Pooled overall TN prevalence among 19 studies and 30,348 MS patients was estimated as 3.4% (95% CI: 1.5%-5.9%) with a high level of heterogeneity among studies (I2=98.92%; p<0.001). The pooled prevalence of TN in male and female patients across 9 surveys was 2.4% (95% CI: 0.5%-5.4%) and 3.8% (95% CI: 0.8%-8.7%), respectively. No heterogeneity between the two groups was observed (p = 0.558). A meta-regression was performed to explore the source of the heterogeneity. None of the candidate covariates, including the year of a study publication, the sample size, the average age of patients, and the disease duration, were significant in the model. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that TN is a common problem among patients with MS, predominantly male patients. Future studies should target the general prevalence of pain in MS patients.

Assessing the value of serum and urinary interleukins for diagnosis of acute kidney injury in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have questioned the diagnostic utility of interleukins (IL) in detecting acute kidney injury (AKI) in pediatric population. Therefore, the present systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the diagnostic value of ILs in pediatric AKI patients. METHOD: Two independent researchers screened records acquired through searching in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science, until the end of 2020. Articles evaluating serum and urinary levels of ILs in AKI patients were included in this study. Data were extracted and analyzed using STATA software. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies were included. Analyses showed that AUC, sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio of urinary IL-18 for diagnosing AKI were 0.77 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.81), 0.64 (95% CI: 0.32, 0.87), 0.75 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.85) and 6 (95% CI: 1, 23), respectively. Those values were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.83), 0.58 (95% CI: 0.37, 0.76), 0.87 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.96), and 9 (95% CI: 4, 20) for serum IL-6, and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.76), 0.53 (95% CI: 0.34, 0.72), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.91) and 4 (95% CI: 2, 8) for serum IL-8, respectively. Urinary levels of ILs 6, 8 and 10 were not significantly different between AKI patients and the non-AKI control group. Serum levels of ILs 10 and 18 were not adequately evaluated in the studies. CONCLUSION: IL-18 urinary levels and IL-6 and IL-8 serum levels are significantly higher in AKI patients compared to the non-AKI group. However, their low sensitivity and specificity in detecting AKI questions their diagnostic value.

The prevalence of Myocardial Infarction among Multiple Sclerosis Patients: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are suggested to have a higher death rate compared to the overall population. Increased risk and incidence of cardiovascular diseases is a possible contributing factor here, as these patients are suggested to be more prone to early death due to myocardial infarction (MI). AIM: This systematic review aims to describe the prevalence of MI among PwMS in comparison to the non-MS population. METHOD: We thoroughly searched for publications reporting the prevalence of MI among PwMS in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. We excluded studies focusing on the following conditions: ischemic heart disease only, autopsy of PwMS, MS patients with a previous history of cardiovascular diseases, and MS diagnosed after MI. Moreover, we excluded reviews, editorials, and commentaries. We used the random effect model to calculate the pooled prevalence. RESULTS: We included nineteen studies, comprising 44 to 66616 participants. The overall prevalence of MI was 1.7% among PwMS. The pooled odds ratio estimate for MI was 1.41 in PwMS compared to the MS-free population. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this systematic review confirms the increased risk of MI among PwMS. Consequently, cardiovascular diseases should be considered in the management of these patients.