Efficacy and acceptability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for the treatment of depression in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants for the treatment of depression in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) but data on their efficacy are controversial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to investigate the efficacy and acceptability of SSRIs in the treatment of depression in PD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ten studies were included. In the comparison between SSRIs and Placebo (n = 6 studies), the combined risk ratio (random effects) was 1.08 (95% confidence interval: 0.77 - 1.55, p = 0.67). In the comparison between SSRIs and Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) (n = 3 studies) the combined risk ratio was 0.75 (0.39 - 1.42, p = 0.37). An acceptability analysis showed that SSRIs were generally well tolerated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that there is insufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis of no differences in efficacy between SSRIs and placebo in the treatment of depression in PD. Due to the limited number of studies and the small sample sizes a type II error (false negative) cannot be excluded. The comparison between SSRIs and TCAs is based on only three studies and further trials with more pragmatic design are needed.</p

Genetic and molecular alterations in meningiomas

Meningiomas are the most common benign intracranial tumors in adults arising from the dura matter. The etiology of meningiomas is mostly unknown, although several risk factors have been described, such as ionizing radiation, head injury, hormones and genetic factors. According to WHO they are classified into 3 grades, grade I, grade II and grade III. Meningiomas express various hormonal and growth factor receptors, such as progesterone, estrogen, somatostatin, transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, which may be related to their biological behavior and response to treatment. Chromosomal abnormalities linked to meningiomas involve chromosomes 22, 1p, 9p, 10p, 11, 14q, 15, 17, and 18q. In addition, genes that may be involved in the formation of meningiomas include NF2, DAL-1, p14 (ARF), p53, MDM2, Rb, p16 and c-myc. It is likely that detailed molecular information will aid in establishing a molecular grading of these tumors and predict response to treatment and survival. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Management of meningiomas

The primary treatment of meningiomas is surgery which can be curative if the tumor is completely removed. For parasagittal, lateral sphenoid wing and olfactory groove meningiomas, gross-total resection should be the goal. Tuberculum and diaphragma sella meningiomas can be resected through the subfrontal or the pterional approaches. In meningiomas of the sphenoid wing with osseous involvement or involvement of the cavernous sinus subtotal resection can be achieved via several surgical approaches. Similarly, subtotal resection rather than gross-total resection of meningiomas of the petroclival, parasellar, and posterior fossa regions can preserve neurological function. Prior to surgery, embolization may reduce intraoperative bleeding and prevent postoperative complications. Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used as an alternative treatment to surgery either as a first-line treatment or at recurrence. Various conventional radiotherapy techniques can be employed for residual tumor post surgery or at recurrence. Chemotherapy has modest activity and is reserved for selected cases. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Radiosensitization and Radioprotection by Curcumin in Glioblastoma and Other Cancers

Radiation therapy plays an important role in almost every cancer treatment. However, radiation toxicity to normal tissues, mainly due to the generation of reactive free radicals, has limited the efficacy of radiotherapy in clinical practice. Curcumin has been reported to possess significant antitumor properties. Although curcumin can sensitize cancer cells to irradiation, healthy cells are much less sensitive to this effect, and thus, curcumin is thought to be a potent, yet safe anti-cancer agent. In this review, a summary of the role of curcumin as both a radiosensitizer and radioprotector has been presented, based on the most recent data from the experimental and clinical evaluation of curcumin in different cancer cell lines, animal models, and human patients

Energy yield estimation of on-vehicle photovoltaic systems in urban environments

Greenhouse gases from the propulsion systems of road transportations constitute a significant obstacle to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives. Nowadays, the substitution of conventional internal combustion engines with electric motors, along with electrochemical storage systems are the leading efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels in road transportations. However, their limited driving range and the long charging times are the main technical factors that hinder the development of electromobility. Thus, energy harvesters and regeneration systems are increasingly incorporated in road vehicles, in order to increase their driving range. In this context, Vehicle Integrated and Applied Photovoltaics (VIAPVs) constitute an attractive prospect. The electricity yield for VIAPVs depends strongly on the route, the shadings due to the urban environment, the applied Maximum Power Point (MPPT) algorithm and the traffic conditions. In this paper, four commonly used commercial MPPT algorithms are experimentally evaluated, regarding their ability to extract the maximum available power simulating realistic city routes. The results show notable discrepancies in the performance of the studied algorithms, between terrestrial and VIAPV applications, highlighting the impact of poor MPPT performance in terms of power generation in moving vehicles