Perceived and performed electronic health literacy of medical sciences students.

BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that perceived skills for searching the Internet for health information may differ from actual skills in searching, finding, and appraising health information. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the perceived and performed eHealth literacy of medical sciences students, as well as the relationships between those literacies. METHODS: This study enrolled 228 medical sciences students (convenience sample) in Iran. The study tools include the eHEALS literacy scale for the perceived eHealth literacy and a questionnaire designed by the authors to assess performed eHealth literacy (skills around access, understanding, appraising, applying, and generating information). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: In general, over 70% of students perceived their skills of access and appraisal as good/very good, correlating with their estimated performance. Students perceived they were less confident in some appraisal skills (e.g., using information from the Internet to make health decisions) than others. Performed skills in information generation were mostly poor or very good; performed application skills generally good/very good. CONCLUSIONS: The eHEALS score scales with actual skills (access and appraisal). Support is necessary for students in particular types of appraisal skills.

Effects of combined oral contraceptives on the clinical and biochemical parameters of hyperandrogenism in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, selection of COCs with maximum antiandrogenic effects is one the main issues in treatment of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of COCs on the clinical and biochemical parameters of hyperandrogenism (HA) in patients with PCOS. METHODS: Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect and web of science) were searched from 1987 to November 2015 to identify clinical trials investigating effect of the various COCs on the clinical and biochemical parameters of HA in patients. In this meta-analysis, both fixed and random effect models were used. Potential sources of heterogeneity were explored by meta-regression and subgroup analyses. RESULTS: Findings showed that COC use for 3-12 months was significantly associated with an increase in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and a decrease in Ferriman-Gallwey (FG) score, total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), androstenedione (A4) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) levels. Type of progestin or duration of treatment had no important effects on declining androgen levels. Long-term use of COCs (6-12 months) was more effective in improving hirsutism, compared to short term. COCs containing cyproterone acetate (CPA) for 12 months had the strongest effect in improving hirsutism. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that, in patients with PCOS, COCs can effectively improve biochemical and clinical parameters of HA. All COCs studies have similar effects on the hormonal profiles of these patients, and products containing CPA may be an effective treatment in hirsute patients with PCOS.

Research Focuses and Trends in Multiple Sclerosis: A Scientometric Analysis.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to analyze the multiple sclerosis research in Science Citation Index-Expanded from 1992 to 2019 in order to determine the top features, trends, and topics. Methods: In this scientometric study, research population was all articles related to multiple sclerosis in the Web of Science from 1992 to 2019. These articles were retrieved from the Science Citation Index-Expanded and analyzed based on various indicators and characteristics. Results: There was a significant increase in the number of articles from 408 in 1992 to 2756 in 2019. A sum of 42,112 articles related to multiple sclerosis has been published in 3,032 journals, which were classified among the 131 Web of Science categories. The top two categories were clinical neurology and neurosciences. Multiple Sclerosis Journal published the most articles. Articles published in the Neurology Journal also had the highest citation per publication. Most of the articles were in English, while 23 other languages were used in the articles. Articles in Japanese and English with 7 and 6.9 authors have a higher average of authors than articles in other languages. English language articles received more citations than articles in other languages. The frequency of used keywords in title, abstract, author keywords, and keywords plus analysis showed that "therapy", "disability", "neurodegeneration", "demyelination" and "MRI" show an increasing trend in the multiple sclerosis articles. Conclusion: The result of this study can help the policy makers and researchers realize the panorama of multiple sclerosis research and design future research. Highlights: The number of multiple sclerosis (MS) articles shows a growing trend, from 1992 to 2019.MS is being studied by researchers worldwide in the articles with 23 different languages.Symptoms, diagnosis, the ways to reduce symptoms, models, and epidemiology are main categories of MS articles.The main foci and trend in MS articles, is "therapy" of the disease. Plain Language Summary: In this article we studied the features, trends and topics of MS articles from 1992 to 2019. The 42.112 articles retrieved from the web of Sciences database and analyzed. We found that the number of articles increased from 408 in 1992 to 2756 in 2019. These articles have been published in 3032 journals in 23 languages, shows that this subject is an important subject all around the world. We studied the frequency of used keywords in articles and found that some keywords such as "therapy", "disability", "neurodegeneration", "demyelination" and "MRI" show an increasing trend. Between them, therapy is the most frequent keyword. This shows that this subject is very important for researchers and they are working hard on it. We also studied the main categories of MS articles and found that the research on MS is concentrated around five main categories: symptoms, diagnosis, the ways to reduce the symptoms of the disease such as therapy or rehabilitation, and prevalence of the MS. The results of this study can help the researchers and policy makers realize the panorama of multiple sclerosis research and design future research.

Scientific Publications and Subject Clusters in the Field of Glaucoma: A Scientometric Analysis.

Purpose: To analyze the glaucoma research in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus to determine the top features, trends, and subject clusters. Methods: In this scientometric study, all glaucoma publications in Scopus and WoS were analyzed based on various characteristics such as authors, journals, and co-word analysis. Data analysis was conducted using both Excel and VOSviewer. Results: A gradual increase in the publication rate was found for articles in the field of glaucoma in both Scopus and WoS databases. In this regard, most publications were conducted in the USA and the University of California System. The co-word network was constituted of five clusters, including glaucoma, intraocular pressure, open-angle glaucoma, visual acuity, and optic disc. It showed that the top 10 highly cited articles were more addressed by epidemiologic studies. Conclusions: The findings of this study had a more precise vision of the previous research on the field of glaucoma. It also provided the possibility to discover hidden patterns and emerging events of a subject by explaining the most essential aspects of research and identifying the areas that need more research. The findings could be useful for authors and health policymakers in academia and countries.

Effects of Herbal Medicines on the Prevention and Treatment of Contact Dermatitis: A Systematic Review.

Background: Contact dermatitis (CD) is a common inflammatory disease of the skin. CD has a complex and multifaceted treatment, and one of the main components of CD treatment is inflammation management. We summarized the clinical trials exploring the effects of herbal medicine on patients with CD. Methods: A systematic review was performed by searching four databases. Clinical trials in English investigating the effect of herbal medicines on CD prevention and treatment published from 2010 to 2020 were reviewed. This study was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines. Results: Nine clinical trials examining the effects of herbs on CD were identified. A total of 450 patients participated in these studies. Herbal medicines used in the reviewed studies were in various forms. Almost all the studies showed that these herbs were useful in preventing and treating CD. Regarding the side effects of the herbal medicines, few complications such as erythema and papules as well as positive chronotropic effects were reported. Conclusion: Evidence showed that herbal medicines were effective in preventing and treating CD by reducing the inflammation level and increasing antioxidant defense. However, the number of clinical trials was low to draw definitive conclusions. Moreover, the studies were not homogeneous and differed regarding methodology, evaluation tools, and quality. Also, in these studies, the interactions and safety of the herbal medicines were not considered adequately. Therefore, well-designed evidence is required to draw definitive conclusions in this regard.

Performance of highly cited multiple sclerosis publications in the Science Citation Index expanded: A scientometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to identify and analyze the characteristics of highly cited publications on Multiple sclerosis in the Science Citation Index Expanded. METHODS: Documents that had 100 citations or more were considered as the highly cited documents. Highly cited publications were analyzed in the distribution of document types, languages, publication years, Web of Science categories, and journals as well as publication performance of countries, institutions, and authors. The six and five publication indicators were applied to compare publications of the countries and the institutes respectively. Highly cited authors were analyzed by Y-index. RESULTS: In general, articles spent about 12 years to be highly cited articles. The USA dominated the production by the six publication indicators. Harvard University was the most active in research on multiple sclerosis while the University of California, Los Angeles in the USA shows the most independent research. M. Filippi was recognized as the most productive author who had the most articles as the corresponding author. CONCLUSION: The findings may be of interest to multiple sclerosis researchers and policymakers all around the world.