WITHDRAWN: Interventions for treating headlice.

BACKGROUND: Infection with head lice is a widespread condition in developed and developing countries. Infection occurs most commonly in children, but also affects adults. If left untreated the condition can become intensely irritating and skin infections may occur if the bites are scratched. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to assess the effects of interventions for head lice. SEARCH STRATEGY: Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group specialized trials register (July 2002); The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2002); MEDLINE and TOXLINE (1966 to July 2002); EMBASE (1980 to May 2002); LILACS (July 2002); Science Citation Index (1981 to July 2002); BIOSIS (1985 to July 2002); reference lists of relevant articles; pharmaceutical companies producing pediculicides (published and unpublished trials); UK and US Regulatory Authorities. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials (published and unpublished) or trials using alternate allocation were sought which compared pediculicides with the same and different formulations of other pediculicides, and pediculicides with physical methods. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Of the 71 identified studies, only four met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality. One reviewer extracted the data. MAIN RESULTS: We found no evidence that any one pediculicide has greater effect than another. The two studies comparing malathion and permethrin with their respective vehicles showed a higher cure rate for the active ingredient than the vehicle. Another study comparing synergised pyrethrins with permethrin showed their effects to be equivalent. A comparative trial of malathion lotion vs combing, showed combing to be ineffective for the cureative treatment of head lice infection. Adverse effects were reported in a number of trials and were all minor, although reporting quality varied between trials. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Permethrin, synergised pyrethrin and malathion were effective in the treatment of head lice. However, the emergence of drug resistance since these trials were conducted means there is no direct contemporary evidence of the comparative effectiveness of these products. The 'best' choice will now depend on local resistance patterns. Physical treatment methods(BugBusting) were shown ot be ineffective to treat head lice. No evidence exists regarding other chemical control methods such as the use of herbal treatments, when used in the curative treatment of head lice. Future trials should take into account the methodological recommendations that arise from this review.

Rapid screening of invertebrate predators for multiple prey DNA targets.

DNA-based techniques are providing valuable new approaches to tracking predator-prey interactions. The gut contents of invertebrate predators can be analysed using species-specific primers to amplify prey DNA to confirm trophic links. The problem is that each predator needs to be analysed with primers for the tens of potential prey available at a field site, even though the mean number of species detected in each gut may be as few as one or two. Conducting all these PCRs (polymerase chain reactions) is a lengthy process, and effectively precludes the analysis of the hundreds of predators that might be required for a meaningful ecological study. We report a rapid, more sensitive and practical approach. Multiplex PCRs, incorporating fluorescent markers, were found to be effective at amplifying degraded DNA from predators' guts and could amplify mitochondrial DNA fragments from 10+ species simultaneously without 'drop outs'. The combined PCR products were then separated by size on polyacrylamide gels on an ABI377 sequencer. New primers to detect the remains of aphids, earthworms, weevils and molluscs in the guts of carabid predators were developed and characterized. The multiplex-sequencer approach was then applied to field-caught beetles, some of which contained DNA from as many as four different prey at once. The main prey detected in the beetles proved to be earthworms and molluscs, although aphids and weevils were also consumed. The potential of this system for use in food-web research is discussed.

Interventions for treating headlice.

BACKGROUND: Infection with head lice is a widespread condition in developed and developing countries. Infection occurs most commonly in children, but also affects adults. If left untreated the condition can become intensely irritating and skin infections may occur if the bites are scratched. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to assess the effects of interventions for head lice. SEARCH STRATEGY: Trials register of The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group; Medline; Embase; Science Citation Index; Biosis and Toxline; reference lists of relevant articles; pharmaceutical companies producing pediculicides (published and unpublished trials); UK and US Regulatory Authorities. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials (published and unpublished) or trials using alternate allocation were sought which compared pediculicides with the same and different formulations of other pediculicides, and pediculicides with physical methods. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Of the 71 identified studies, only four met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality. One reviewer extracted the data. MAIN RESULTS: We found no evidence that any one pediculicide has greater effect than another. The two studies comparing malathion and permethrin with their respective vehicles showed a higher cure rate for the active ingredient than the vehicle. Another study comparing synergised pyrethrins with permethrin showed their effects to be equivalent. A comparative trial of malathion lotion vs combing, showed combing to be ineffective for the cureative treatment of head lice infection. Adverse effects were reported in a number of trials and were all minor, although reporting quality varied between trials. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Permethrin, synergised pyrethrin and malathion were effective in the treatment of head lice. However, the emergence of drug resistance since these trials were conducted means there is no direct contemporary evidence of the comparative effectiveness of these products. The 'best' choice will now depend on local resistance patterns. Physical treatment methods(BugBusting) were shown ot be ineffective to treat head lice. No evidence exists regarding other chemical control methods such as the use of herbal treatments, when used in the curative treatment of head lice. Future trials should take into account the methodological recommendations that arise from this review.

Interventions for treating head lice.

BACKGROUND: Infection with head lice is a widespread condition in developed and developing countries. Infection occurs most commonly in children, but also affects adults. If left untreated the condition can become intensely irritating and skin infections may occur if the bites are scratched. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to assess the effects of interventions for head lice. SEARCH STRATEGY: Trials register of The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group; Medline; Embase; Science Citation Index; Biosis and Toxline; reference lists of relevant articles; pharmaceutical companies producing pediculicides (published and unpublished trials); UK and US Regulatory Authorities. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials (published and unpublished) or trials using alternate allocation were sought which compared pediculicides with the same and different formulations of other pediculicides, and pediculicides with physical methods. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Of the 71 identified studies, only four met the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality. One reviewer extracted the data. MAIN RESULTS: We found no evidence that any one pediculicide has greater effect than another. The two studies comparing malathion and permethrin with their respective vehicles showed a higher cure rate for the active ingredient than the vehicle. Another study comparing synergised pyrethrins with permethrin showed their effects to be equivalent. A comparative trial of malathion lotion vs combing, showed combing to be ineffective for the cureative treatment of head lice infection. Adverse effects were reported in a number of trials and were all minor, although reporting quality varied between trials. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Permethrin, synergised pyrethrin and malathion were effective in the treatment of head lice. However, the emergence of drug resistance since these trials were conducted means there is no direct contemporary evidence of the comparative effectiveness of these products. The 'best' choice will now depend on local resistance patterns. Physical treatment methods(BugBusting) were shown ot be ineffective to treat head lice. No evidence exists regarding other chemical control methods such as the use of herbal treatments, when used in the curative treatment of head lice. Future trials should take into account the methodological recommendations that arise from this review.

Interventions for treating headlice.

BACKGROUND: Infection with head lice is a widespread condition in developed and developing countries. Infection occurs most commonly in children, but also affects adults. If left untreated the condition can become intensely irritating and skin infections may occur if the bites are scratched. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to assess the effects of interventions for head lice. SEARCH STRATEGY: Trials register of The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group; Medline; Embase; Science Citation Index; Biosis and Toxline; reference lists of relevant articles; pharmaceutical companies producing pediculicides (published and unpublished trials); UK and US Regulatory Authorities. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials (published and unpublished) or trials using alternate allocation were sought which compared pediculicides with the same and different formulations of other pediculicides, and pediculicides with physical methods. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Of the 70 identified studies, only three met the inclusion criteria and one is awaiting assessment. Two reviewers independently assessed trial quality. One reviewer extracted the data. MAIN RESULTS: We found no evidence that any one pediculicide has greater effect than another. The two studies comparing malathion and permethrin with their respective vehicles showed a higher cure rate for the active ingredient than the vehicle. The third study comparing synergised pyrethrins with permethrin showed their effects to be equivalent. Adverse effects were reported in a number of trials and were all minor, although reporting quality varied between trials. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Permethrin, synergised pyrethrin and malathion were effective in the treatment of head lice. However, the emergence of drug resistance since these trials were conducted means there is no direct contemporary evidence of the comparative effectiveness of these products. The 'best' choice will now depend on local resistance patterns. There is currently no evidence from trials to indicate the effectiveness of physical methods, such as combing/'BugBusting' or other chemical control methods such as the use of herbal treatments, when used in the curative treatment of head lice. Future trials should take into account the methodological recommendations that arise from this review.