The impact of psychopharmacology on contemporary clinical psychiatry.

Clinical psychiatric evaluations of patients have changed dramatically in recent decades. Both initial assessments and follow-up visits have become brief and superficial, focused on searching for categorical diagnostic criteria from checklists, with limited inquiry into patient-reported symptomatic status and tolerability of treatments. The virtually exclusive therapeutic task has become selecting a plausible psychotropic, usually based on expert consensus guidelines. These guidelines and practice patterns rest mainly on published monotherapy trials that may or may not be applicable to particular patients but are having a profound impact, not only on modern psychiatric practice but also on psychiatric education, research, and theory.

Melatonin supplementation during controlled ovarian stimulation for women undergoing assisted reproductive technology: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the best evidence available regarding the effect of melatonin supplementation during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) on the main assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCT). SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Women undergoing COS for ART. INTERVENTION(S): Melatonin supplementation during COS for women undergoing ART. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Live birth rate, clinical pregnancy rate, number of retrieved oocytes, miscarriage rate, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rate, and number of congenital abnormalities. Comparisons were performed using risk ratio (RR) or mean difference (MD). RESULT(S): Five RCTs were considered eligible, and their data were extracted and included in a meta-analysis. No studies reported live-birth or congenital abnormalities. Our estimates were imprecise for distinguishing between no effect and benefit considering clinical pregnancy (RR, 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98-1.50, five studies, 680 women, low quality-evidence) and the number of oocytes retrieved (MD, 0.6; 95% CI, -0.2-2.2, five studies, 680 women, low quality-evidence). Our estimates were imprecise for distinguishing among harm, no effect, and benefit considering miscarriage (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.43-2.68, two studies, 143 clinical pregnancies, low quality-evidence) and interventions to reduce the risk of OHSS (RR,1.01; 95% CI, 0.33-3.08, one study, 358 women, low quality-evidence). CONCLUSION(S): More studies investigating the role of melatonin supplementation are still needed before recommending its use in clinical practice.

Executive functions rehabilitation for schizophrenia: a critical systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Consistent evidences suggest that poor functional outcomes in schizophrenia are associated with deficits in executive functions (EF). As result cognitive training, remediation and/or rehabilitation (CR) programs have been developed and many theories, methods and approaches have emerged in support of them. This article presents a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCT), including EF rehabilitation interventions, with a focus on methodological issues and evidences of EF improvements. METHOD: Electronic databases (Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Embase) were searched for articles on schizophrenia, EF and cognitive rehabilitation terms. The methodological quality of each article was measured by 5-point JADAD scale. RESULTS: A total of 184 articles were initially identified, but after exclusion criteria, 30 RCT remained in this review. A proportion of 23% of studies scored higher than 4 points in JADAD scale, 40% scored 3 points, 33% scored 2 points and one study scored only 1 point. The average length of interventions was approximately 80 h distributed around 3.42 h/week. CONCLUSION: The reviewed articles corroborate the literature pointing that CR could be a promising therapeutic option for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. In general, CR could improve cognitive domains and social adjustment either using computerized or paper-and-pencil programs. Additionally, CR combined with cognitive behavioral therapy and/or group sessions is particularly effective. In this paper, we also speculated and discussed optimal doses of treatment and the differences regarding modalities and approaches.

Características de los ensayos controlados y aleatorizados pediátricos en países no industrializados / Characteristics of pediatric randomized drug trials in developing countries

Los ensayos controlados y aleatorizados y la investigación en general deberían correlacionarse mejor con las necesidades de salud de los niños a nivel mundial.

O significado do grau de recomendaçãoe força de evidência A da classificaçãoda Associação Médica Brasileira

A revista Femina vem utilizando os graus de recomendações e força de evidência da Associação Médica Brasileira (AMB)1 para classificar as referências bibliográficas contidas no texto de seus artigos com o objetivo de dar ao leitor o verdadeiro valor atribuído a cada intervenção utilizada nas investigações

Papel da ingestão de soja na nefropatia diabética / Role of soy intake in diabetic nephropathy

O papel específico das modificações da dieta no tratamento da nefropatia diabética (ND) ainda não está elucidado. A substituição de proteína de origem animal por soja em pacientes com Diabete Melito (DM) poderia ser benéfica para a função renal. O objetivo do presente manuscrito foi revisar criticamente as evidências acerca do papel da soja na ND. Foram selecionados seis ensaios clínicos randomizados conduzidos em pacientes com DM, dentre os quais cinco demonstraram melhora de pelo menos um marcador de função renal com a dieta com soja. Os mecanismos através dos quais essas dietas promoveriam melhora da ND não foram elucidados, assim como não está estabelecido ainda se há distinção no efeito benéfico aos rins dos diferentes produtos à base de soja disponíveis no mercado. Novos estudos são necessários para que tais questões possam ser elucidadas e para que os benefícios da soja na ND possam ser confirmados.

The specific role of dietary changes in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN) has not yet been elucidated. The animal source protein replacement for soy in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) may provide potential benefits for renal function. The aim of the present manuscript was to perform a critical review of evidence about the role of soy in DN. Six randomized clinical trials conducted in patients with DM were selected, and five of them showed improvement of at least one marker of renal function with the soy diet. However, the mechanisms by which these diets promote improvement in DN have not been elucidated. It is not yet known whether there are distinguishable renal benefits ensured by different soy-based products available on the market. Further studies are needed to clarify theses aspects and to confirm the benefits of soy in DN.

La medicina basada en evidencias / Evidence-based medicine

The need to improve the quality of health care and to contain its costs has become mandatory. Simultaneously we are confronted by a growing body of clinical information, most of it irrelevant. This paper discribes the origin and methods of Evidence-Based Madicine, a new alternative to the usual ways of medical information. The recent development of computarized data bases in permitting the rapid location of relevant clinical information concerning specific questions on diagnosis, therapy or prognosis. Critical analysis is then used to determine the validity of the evidence obtained, which can be employed in clinical decision making. The future role of Evidence-Based Medicine in education and clinical practice seems highly promissory