Worldwide prevalence estimates of burning mouth syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the worldwide prevalence and epidemiology profile of burning mouth syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. Search strategies were performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang database for studies published before January 31, 2021, for the prevalence of burning mouth syndrome. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were included. The overall pooled prevalence of burning mouth syndrome was 1.73% (95% CI = 0.176-0.351, n = 26,632) in general population, and 7.72% (95% CI = 0.434-0.691, n = 86,591) in clinical patients. The subgroup analysis by continent showed that among the population-based studies the prevalence in Asia (1.05%) lower than in Europe (5.58%) and North America (1.10%). The subgroup analysis by gender showed the prevalence of female (1.15%) was higher than male (0.38%) in general population. The subgroup analysis by age showed the prevalence was higher for people over 50 (3.31%) than under 50 (1.92%). CONCLUSIONS: The pooled prevalence of burning mouth syndrome was relatively high in both general population and clinical patients, varies in different regions with the highest prevalence in Europe, and females over 50 years were the most susceptible group. More epidemiological surveys on the prevalence of burning mouth syndrome are needed.

Identification of cuproptosis-related molecular classification and characteristic genes in ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a refractory inflammatory disease with imbalances in intestinal mucosal homeostasis. Cuproptosis serves as newly identified programmed cell death (PCD) form involved in UC. In the study, UC-related datasets were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A comparison of UC patients and healthy controls identified 11 differentially expressed cuproptosis-related genes (DE-CRGs), where FDX1, LIAS, and DLAT were differentially expressed in UC groups from the mouse models and clinical samples, with their expression correlating with disease severity. By comprehending weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and differential expression analysis, the key genes common to the module genes relevant to different cuproptosis-related clusters and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) both in different clusters and patients with and without UC were identified using several bioinformatic analysis. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of four characteristic genes with diagnostic potential demonstrated significant decrease in both mouse models and clinical UC samples. Our discoveries offer a theoretical foundation for cuproptosis effect in UC.

Efficacy and safety of Ginkgo biloba extract in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ginkgo biloba is a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from the Ginkgophyta and is commonly used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China. Clinical trials have demonstrated the clinical benefits of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) preparations for patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). AIM OF THE STUDY: The efficacy of different GBE preparations in treating UAP may vary, leading to a lack of guidance for physicians when choosing GBE preparations. How to make choices among different GBE preparations is a topic worthy of investigation. In order to clarify the efficacy differences among different GBE preparations, provide a reference for their optimal use conditions, this study was conducted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included literature from eight databases from inception to November 2023. It included UAP patients, with the control group receiving conventional treatment and the treatment group receiving different GBE preparations in addition to conventional treatment. Angina efficacy, electrocardiogram (ECG) improvement, and frequency of angina were chosen as outcomes. This study employed a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis, and the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) curve was used for estimating the efficacy ranking. RESULTS: A total of 98 studies involving 9513 patients and 9 interventions were included. Compared with conventional treatment, GBE preparations combined with conventional treatment had better efficacy in angina symptoms and ECG improvement. According to the SUCRA ranking, Shuxuening injection was most effective in improving angina symptoms and reducing the frequency of angina. Among oral GBE preparations, Ginkgo tablets had the best performance in improving angina symptoms and ECG manifestations, and reducing the frequency of angina. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the treatment group and the control group, and all adverse events were mild and self-limiting. Compared with oral preparations, the incidence of adverse events for injections was higher. CONCLUSIONS: GBE preparations may alleviate angina symptoms and myocardial ischemia in the treatment of UAP with favorable safety. Shuxuening injection may be the most effective among all GBE preparations in improving angina symptoms, while Ginkgo tablets may perform best among oral formulations. The optimal use of GBE injection may be for rapidly alleviating angina symptoms and myocardial ischemia in patients with UAP, and oral formulation of GBE may be more suitable for the long-term treatment of patients with milder symptoms. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022361487, ID: CRD42022361487.

Constructing a prediction model of inflammatory bowel disease recurrence based on factors affecting the quality of life.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the factors affecting the quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to construct a disease recurrence prediction model based on these influencing factors. Methods: A prospective, single-center study in China was conducted between October 2020 and March 2021. The quality of life of patients was assessed using the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ). Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used to analyze the factors influencing the quality of life of patients with IBD. The chi-square test and the point-biserial correlation analysis were performed to identify factors associated with clinical recurrence. A binary logistic regression model was constructed to predict the recurrence. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the prediction model. Patients with IBD from April 2021 to June 2021 were randomly included for model verification to evaluate the disease recurrence prediction model. Results: The average IBDQ score of patients with IBD was 172.2 ± 35.0 (decreased by 23.2%). The scores of all dimensions of the IBDQ were decreased, especially emotional function and systemic symptoms. Disease activity, age, extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs), and annual household income were important factors influencing the IBDQ scores of patients with ulcerative colitis, and these accounted for ~57.0% of the factors affecting the quality of life. Disease activity, EIMs, and occupational stress were important factors influencing the IBDQ scores of patients with Crohn's disease, and they accounted for approximately 75.1% of the factors affecting the quality of life. Annual household income, occupational stress, and IBDQ scores were independent risk factors for recurrence. The area under the curve of the recurrence prediction model was 81.1%. The sensitivity and specificity were 81.7 and 71.7%, respectively. The Youden index of the model was 0.534. The established recurrence prediction model has good discriminant validity in the validation cohort. Conclusion: The quality of life of patients with IBD was generally poor. The use of factors affecting the quality of life to predict disease recurrence has high predictive value and can support the management of IBD by selecting patients at a higher risk for relapse.

Effectiveness and Safety of Chinese Medicine Decoctions for Behcet's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Behcet's disease (BD) is an autoimmune disease of systemic vasculitis with an unclear pathogenesis. Although western medicines remain the mainstay interventions, effectiveness and safety are significant challenges. Complementary and alternative medicine, including herbal medicine, are gaining more attention. Chinese medicine decoctions, which have been used for centuries, are the most common form of traditional therapies. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the review was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese medicine decoctions in the treatment of BD. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for BD treatment with Chinese medicine decoctions were searched in six electronic databases until March 2021. Primary outcomes were total effective rate, recovery rate, and recurrence rate. Secondary outcomes were clinical feature scores (oral ulcers, eye lesions, genital ulcers, skin lesions, arthropathies, fever, and pathergy reactions) and laboratory index levels (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and immunoglobulin A). The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Handbook, and a meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.4.1. RESULTS: Sixteen RCTs with 924 patients were included in the review. The meta-analysis indicated that Chinese medicine decoctions were effective for BD when compared with control groups for all the primary outcomes and 7/10 of the secondary outcomes. Adverse events were reported in 11 of the 16 RCTs, with the Chinese medicine decoctions possibly having fewer adverse events than western drugs. This review included a range of classical prescriptions. An additional meta-analysis of modified Gancao Xiexin Decoction for BD treatment was conducted. Gancao Xiexin decoction is also discussed as a representative prescription, as well as high-frequency herbs, and warrants further exploration for individualized medicine and pharmacology. CONCLUSION: Chinese medicine decoctions have the potential to be effective and safe for treating BD. However, additional well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm the findings because of the unsatisfactory quality of the included studies.