Efficacy of radiosynovectomy in the treatment of chronic knee synovitis: Systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Knee joints are commonly involved with various inflammatory and non-inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Radiosynovectomy is being used as a local therapeutic option to alleviate pain and swelling in involved joints. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of radiosynovectomy for treatment of chronic knee synovitis. Methods: Through a search of Medline and SCOPUS with (Radiosynovectomy OR radio-synovectomy OR "radio synovectomy" OR "radiation synovectomy" OR radiosynoviorthesis OR radio-synoviorthesis OR synoviorthesis OR "radiochemical synovectomy" OR "radioisotope synovectomy") AND (Re-188 OR Y-90 OR Sm-153 OR P-32) as key words, 9 RCTs were enrolled in the analysis. Results: The outcomes of interest were odds ratio and risk difference of improvement in the radiosynovectomy group compared to the control group. Odds ratio and risk difference for Sm-153 plus corticosteroid subgroup was 1. 959[0.571-6.72

Diagnostic Performance of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Using Fluorine-18 Fluorodeoxyglucose in Detecting Locoregional Nodal Involvement in Patients with Anal Canal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose. The diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) in detecting nodal involvement in patients with anal canal cancer (ACC) has been investigated by several studies with conflicting results. The aim of our study is to systematically review and meta-analyze published data about this topic. Methods. A comprehensive computer literature search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases was carried out on July 10 to find relevant articles concerning the diagnostic performance of FDG-PET in detecting locoregional nodal involvement in patients with ACC. No language restriction was used. Pooled diagnostic performance on a lesion-based analysis was calculated. Results. Seven retrospective and five prospective studies have been reviewed. Six studies allowed assessing pooled sensitivity; five studies allowed assessing pooled specificity. Sensitivity and specificity values of FDG-PET/CT on a lesion-based analysis ranged from 31 to 100% and from 53 to 98%, with pooled estimates of 56% (95% CI: 45–67%) and 90% (95% CI: 86–93%), respectively. Conclusions. Our meta-analysis demonstrates that FDG-PET is a specific diagnostic tool in detecting locoregional lymph node involvement in patients with ACC. Low sensitivity is a major concern; however, higher sensitivity could be reached combining FDG-PET with MR scan

Effect of Daily Caper Fruit Pickle Consumption on Disease Regression in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: a Double-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial

Purpose: Despite numerous studies on the effects of complementary medicine, to our knowledge, there is no study on the effects of Capparis spinosa on disease regression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. We compared the effects of caper fruit pickle consumption, as an Iranian traditional medicine product, on the anthropometric measures and biochemical parameters in different NAFLD patients. Methods: A 12-weeks randomized, controlled, double-blind trial was designed in 44 NAFLD patients randomly categorized for the control (n=22) or caper (n=22). The caper group received 40-50 gr of caper fruit pickles with meals daily. Before and after treatment, we assessed anthropometric measures, grade of fatty liver, serum lipoproteins and liver enzymes. Results: Weight and BMI were significantly decreased in the caper (p<0.001 and p<0.001) and control group (p=0.001 and p=0.001), respectively. Serum TG, TC and LDL.C just were significantly decreased in the control group (p=0.01, p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Adjusted to the baseline measures, serum ALT and AST reduction were significantly higher in the caper than control group from baseline up to the end of the study (p<0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). After weeks 12, disease severity was significantly decreased in the caper group (p <0.001). Conclusion: Our results suggest that daily caper fruit pickle consumption for 12 weeks may be potentially effective on improving the biochemical parameters in NAFLD patients. Further, additional larger controlled trials are needed for the verification of these results