ABSTRACT
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare and debilitating autoimmune disorder that affects the peripheral nervous system. Although the exact etiology of GBS is still unknown, it is thought to be triggered by a preceding gastrointestinal infection in most of the cases. Clinical manifestations include limb weakness, areflexia, and sensory loss that can further progress to neuromuscular paralysis affecting the respiratory, facial, and bulbar functions. Both plasmapheresis (PE) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) have shown effectiveness in the treatment of GBS, but it is still unclear which treatment approach is superior in terms of therapeutic efficacy. This systematic review acts per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. For appropriate studies and research, we searched PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Screening of articles was performed based on relevance and inclusion and exclusion criteria. To check for bias, we used relevant quality appraisal tools. Initially, we found 2454 articles. After removing duplicates and irrelevant papers, we finalized 31 studies based on titles, abstracts, and reading entire articles. We excluded 14 studies because of poor quality; the remaining 17 papers were included in this review. IVIG is equally efficacious as PE in improving primary outcomes and secondary outcomes. IVIG showed a slight advantage over PE in reducing the need for mechanical ventilation (MV) and hospital stay duration. However, in children, PE demonstrated a slight edge in improving secondary outcomes. PE was associated with a slightly higher risk of adverse events and post-treatment worsening symptoms compared to IVIG. IVIG is considered more user-friendly with a significantly lower patient discontinuation rate than PE. IVIG treatment was found to be significantly more expensive than PE.
ABSTRACT
In this umbrella review, we analyze the effect of gut microbiota on the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), a global health challenge. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, we searched multiple databases for the most relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses from 2000 to 2023. We identified 20 articles that met our inclusion criteria. The findings include the identification of specific microbiota markers, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, for potential early diagnosis and improvement of disease treatment. This thorough study not only establishes the connection between microbiota and CRC but also provides valuable knowledge for future research in developing microbiome-centered treatments and preventive methods.
ABSTRACT
Among the leading causes of morbidity, disability, and death worldwide are cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Their risk factors usually include a variety of factors associated with cardiometabolic disorders. Many public health organizations prioritize the prevention of CVDs and encourage people to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It has been shown that fasting and a healthy diet can promote weight loss and improve cardiometabolic health in various animal species. We want to know the impact of fasting on CVDs. The topic is examined in this systematic review. We looked through a wide range of online sources, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that looked into the connection between CVDs and fasting. We included human research that has been published in English in peer-reviewed publications in the last five years, and then we screened by the title, abstract, and full-text accessibility. We picked the final 10 articles for quality assessment using Cochrane Collaboration's tool for risk-of-bias assessment of RCTs. The findings suggest that fasting is beneficial in lowering the cardiovascular risk of a population. This result holds for all types of fasting used as an intervention in the clinical trials we reviewed. The result is pronounced when fasting regimens are combined with a regular exercise routine. More comprehensive data will come from larger-scale clinical trials and case-control studies, and a thorough examination of all the potential health impacts of fasting is warranted.
