scholarly journals Assessing Creatine Supplementation for Neuroprotection against Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy: A Systematic Review of Perinatal and Adult Pre-Clinical Studies

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2902
Author(s):  
Nhi Thao Tran ◽  
Sharmony B. Kelly ◽  
Rod J. Snow ◽  
David W. Walker ◽  
Stacey J. Ellery ◽  
...  

There is an important unmet need to develop interventions that improve outcomes of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE). Creatine has emerged as a promising neuroprotective agent. Our objective was to systematically evaluate the preclinical animal studies that used creatine for perinatal neuroprotection, and to identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed before creatine can be considered for pragmatic clinical trials for HIE. Methods: We reviewed preclinical studies up to 20 September 2021 using PubMed, EMBASE and OVID MEDLINE databases. The SYRCLE risk of bias assessment tool was utilized. Results: Seventeen studies were identified. Dietary creatine was the most common administration route. Cerebral creatine loading was age-dependent with near term/term-equivalent studies reporting higher increases in creatine/phosphocreatine compared to adolescent-adult equivalent studies. Most studies did not control for sex, study long-term histological and functional outcomes, or test creatine post-HI. None of the perinatal studies that suggested benefit directly controlled core body temperature (a known confounder) and many did not clearly state controlling for potential study bias. Conclusion: Creatine is a promising neuroprotective intervention for HIE. However, this systematic review reveals key knowledge gaps and improvements to preclinical studies that must be addressed before creatine can be trailed for neuroprotection of the human fetus/neonate.

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 952-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nidan Qiao

Introduction Machine learning methods in sellar region diseases present a particular challenge because of the complexity and the necessity for reproducibility. This systematic review aims to compile the current literature on sellar region diseases that utilized machine learning methods and to propose a quality assessment tool and reporting checklist for future studies. Methods PubMed and Web of Science were searched to identify relevant studies. The quality assessment included five categories: unmet needs, reproducibility, robustness, generalizability and clinical significance. Results Seventeen studies were included with the diagnosis of general pituitary neoplasms, acromegaly, Cushing’s disease, craniopharyngioma and growth hormone deficiency. 87.5% of the studies arbitrarily chose one or two machine learning models. One study chose ensemble models, and one study compared several models. 43.8% of studies did not provide the platform for model training, and roughly half did not offer parameters or hyperparameters. 62.5% of the studies provided a valid method to avoid over-fitting, but only five reported variations in the validation statistics. Only one study validated the algorithm in a different external database. Four studies reported how to interpret the predictors, and most studies (68.8%) suggested possible clinical applications of the developed algorithm. The workflow of a machine-learning study and the recommended reporting items were also provided based on the results. Conclusions Machine learning methods were used to predict diagnosis and posttreatment outcomes in sellar region diseases. Though most studies had substantial unmet need and proposed possible clinical application, replicability, robustness and generalizability were major limits in current studies.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Mohanambal Moorthy ◽  
Usha Sundralingam ◽  
Uma D. Palanisamy

Obesity is a disease growing at an alarming rate and numerous preclinical studies have proven the role of polyphenols in managing this disease. This systematic review explores the prebiotic effect of polyphenols in the management of obesity among animals fed on a high-fat diet. A literature search was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Embase databases following the PRISMA guidelines. Forty-four studies reported a significant reduction in obesity-related parameters. Most notably, 83% of the studies showed a decrease in either body weight/visceral adiposity/plasma triacylglyceride. Furthermore, 42 studies reported a significant improvement in gut microbiota (GM), significantly affecting the genera Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Blautia, Roseburia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Alistipes, and Desulfovibrio. Polyphenols’ anti-obesity, anti-hyperglycaemic, and anti-inflammatory properties were associated with their ability to modulate GM. This review supports the notion of polyphenols as effective prebiotics in ameliorating HFD-induced metabolic derangements in animal models.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorien Verdoodt ◽  
Noa Peeleman ◽  
Guy Van Camp ◽  
Vincent Van Rompaey ◽  
Peter Ponsaerts

Background: Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory deficit, affecting 466 million people worldwide and has been listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the priority diseases for research into therapeutic interventions to address public health needs. Inner ear gene therapy is a promising approach to restore sensorineural hearing loss, for which several gene therapy applications have been studied and reported in preclinical animal studies.Objective: To perform a systematic review on preclinical studies reporting cochlear gene therapy, with a specific focus on transduction efficiency.Methods: An initial PubMed search was performed on April 1st 2021 using the PRISMA methodology. Preclinical in vivo studies reporting primary data regarding transduction efficiency of gene therapy targeting the inner ear were included in this report.Results: Thirty-six studies were included in this review. Transduction of various cell types in the inner ear can be achieved, according to the viral vector used. However, there is significant variability in the applied vector delivery systems, including promoter, viral vector titer, etc.Conclusion: Although gene therapy presents a promising approach to treat sensorineural hearing loss in preclinical studies, the heterogeneity of methodologies impedes the identification of the most promising tools for future use in inner ear therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taewon Kim ◽  
Christine Park ◽  
Pratik Y. Chhatbar ◽  
Jody Feld ◽  
Brian Mac Grory ◽  
...  

Background: Although low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation (LI-TUS) has received more recognition for its neuromodulation potential, there remains a crucial knowledge gap regarding the neuromodulatory effects of LI-TUS and its potential for translation as a therapeutic tool in humans.Objective: In this review, we summarized the findings reported by recently published studies regarding the effect of LI-TUS on neuromodulation in both animals and humans. We also aim to identify challenges and opportunities for the translation process.Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science was performed from January 2019 to June 2020 with the following keywords and Boolean operators: [transcranial ultrasound OR transcranial focused ultrasound OR ultrasound stimulation] AND [neuromodulation]. The methodological quality of the animal studies was assessed by the SYRCLE's risk of bias tool, and the quality of human studies was evaluated by the PEDro score and the NIH quality assessment tool.Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 26 manuscripts (24 animal studies and two human studies) out of 508 reports were included in this systematic review. Although both inhibitory (10 studies) and excitatory (16 studies) effects of LI-TUS were observed in animal studies, only inhibitory effects have been reported in primates (five studies) and human subjects (two studies). The ultrasonic parameters used in animal and human studies are different. The SYRCLE quality score ranged from 25 to 43%, with a majority of the low scores related to performance and detection bias. The two human studies received high PEDro scores (9/10).Conclusion: LI-TUS appears to be capable of targeting both superficial and deep cerebral structures to modulate cognitive or motor behavior in both animals and humans. Further human studies are needed to more precisely define the effective modulation parameters and thereby translate this brain modulatory tool into the clinic.


Author(s):  
Jeong-Seo Kim

(1) Objectives: This study reviews the use of electrocochleography (ECoG) as a tool for assessing the response of the peripheral auditory system and monitoring hearing preservation in the growing population of cochlear implant (CI) users with preserved hearing in the implanted ear. (2) Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed and CINAHL databases up to August 2020 to locate articles related to the ECoG measured during or after the cochlear implant (CI) surgery for monitoring purposes. Non-English articles, animal studies, literature reviews and editorials, case reports, and conference papers were excluded. The quality of studies was evaluated using the National Institute of Health (NIH) “Study Quality Assessment Tool for Case Series Studies”. (3) Results: A total 30 articles were included for the systematic review. A total of 21 articles were intraoperative ECoG studies, while seven articles were postoperative studies. Two studies were conducted ECoG both during and after the surgery. Intraoperative ECoG studies focused on monitoring changes in ECoG response amplitudes during and/or after electrode insertion and predicting the scalar location of the electrode array. Postoperative ECoG studies focused on using the ECoG measurements to estimate behavioral audiometric thresholds and monitor pathophysiological changes related to delayed onset hearing loss postimplant. (4) Conclusions: ECoG is feasible to provide real-time feedback intraoperatively and has a potential clinical value to monitor the status of hearing preservation postoperatively in this CI population with residual acoustic hearing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 535-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi ◽  
Mahdi Vajdi

Abstract. Backgrounds: Central obesity, as a pivotal component of metabolic syndrome is associated with numerous co-morbidities. Dietary factors influence central obesity by increased inflammatory status. However, recent studies didn’t evaluate the association between central obesity and dietary inflammation index (DII®) that give score to dietary factors according to their inflammatory potential. In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we summarized the studies that investigated the association between DII® with central obesity indices in the general populations. Methods: In a systematic search from PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Sciences and Cochrane electronic databases, we collected relevant studies written in English and published until 30 October 2019. The population of included studies were apparently healthy subjects or individuals with obesity or obesity-related diseases. Observational studies that evaluated the association between DII® and indices of central obesity including WC or WHR were included. Results: Totally thirty-two studies were included; thirty studies were cross-sectional and two were cohort studies with 103071 participants. Meta-analysis of observational studies showed that higher DII® scores were associated with 1.81 cm increase in WC (Pooled weighted mean difference (WMD) = 1.813; CI: 0.785–2.841; p = 0.001). Also, a non-significant increase in the odds of having higher WC (OR = 1.162; CI: 0.95–1.43; p = 0.154) in the highest DII category was also observed. In subgroup analysis, the continent, dietary assessment tool and gender were the heterogeneity sources. Conclusion: The findings proposed that adherence to diets with high DII® scores was associated with increased WC. Further studies with interventional designs are necessary to elucidate the causality inference between DII® and central obesity indices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 1759720X2110140
Author(s):  
Conor Magee ◽  
Hannah Jethwa ◽  
Oliver M. FitzGerald ◽  
Deepak R. Jadon

Aims: The ability to predict response to treatment remains a key unmet need in psoriatic disease. We conducted a systematic review of studies relating to biomarkers associated with response to treatment in either psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library from their inception to 2 September 2020, and conference proceedings from four major rheumatology conferences. Original research articles studying pre-treatment biomarker levels associated with subsequent response to pharmacologic treatment in either PsV or PsA were included. Results: A total of 765 articles were retrieved and after review, 44 articles (22 relating to PsV and 22 to PsA) met the systematic review’s eligibility criteria. One study examined the response to methotrexate, one the response to tofacitinib and all the other studies to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Whilst several studies examined the HLA-C*06 allele in PsV, the results were conflicting. Interleukin (IL)-12 serum levels and polymorphisms in the IL-12B gene show promise as biomarkers of treatment response in PsV. Most, but not all, studies found that higher baseline levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were associated with a better clinical response to treatment in patients with PsA. Conclusion: Several studies have identified biomarkers associated with subsequent response to treatment in psoriatic disease. However, due to the different types of biomarkers, treatments and outcome measures used, firm conclusions cannot be drawn. Further validation is needed before any of these biomarkers translate to clinical practice.


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