Evaluation of the role of whey with dodder oxymel on mild to moderate psoriasis: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial

A systematic review of 454 randomized controlled trials using the Dermatology Life Quality Index: experience in 69 diseases and 43 countries

BACKGROUND

Over 29 years of clinical application, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) has remained the most used patient-reported outcome (PRO) in dermatology due to its robustness, simplicity and ease of use.

OBJECTIVES

To generate further evidence of the DLQI's utility in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and to cover all diseases and interventions.

METHODS

The methodology followed PRISMA guidelines and included seven bibliographical databases, searching articles published from 1 January 1994 until 16 November 2021. Articles were reviewed independently by two assessors, and an adjudicator resolved any opinion differences.

RESULTS

Of 3220 screened publications, 454 articles meeting the eligibility criteria for inclusion, describing research on 198 190 patients, were analysed. DLQI scores were primary endpoints in 24 (5.3%) of studies. Most studies were of psoriasis (54.1%), although 69 different diseases were studied. Most study drugs were systemic (85.1%), with biologics comprising 55.9% of all pharmacological interventions. Topical treatments comprised 17.0% of total pharmacological interventions. Nonpharmacological interventions, mainly laser therapy and ultraviolet radiation treatment, comprised 12.2% of the total number of interventions. The majority of studies (63.7%) were multicentric, with trials conducted in at least 42 different countries; 40.2% were conducted in multiple countries. The minimal clinically importance difference (MCID) was reported in the analysis of 15.0% of studies, but only 1.3% considered full score meaning banding of the DLQI. Forty-seven (10.4%) of the studies investigated statistical correlation of the DLQI with clinical severity assessment or other PRO/quality of life tools; and 61-86% of studies had within-group scores differences greater than the MCID in 'active treatment arms'. The Jadad risk-of-bias scale showed that bias was generally low, as 91.8% of the studies had Jadad scores of ≥ 3; only 0.4% of studies showed a high risk of bias from randomization. Thirteen per cent had a high risk of bias from blinding and 10.1% had a high risk of bias from unknown outcomes of all participants in the studies. In 18.5% of the studies the authors declared that they followed an intention-to-treat protocol; imputation for missing DLQI data was used in 34.4% of studies.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review provides a wealth of evidence of the use of the DLQI in clinical trials to inform researchers' and -clinicians' decisions for its further use. Recommendations are also made for improving the reporting of data from future RCTs using the DLQI.

Oxymel: A systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies

Background

Oxymel is a functional beverage with a rich historical background of use in multiple societies. Various simple and compound oxymels are prescribed in certain complementary and traditional medical systems, including traditional Persian Medicine. In recent years, numerous clinical and preclinical studies have been conducted in the pharmacy and food industry to investigate the efficacy of various oxymel formulations. This article aims to systematically review and summarize interventional studies on oxymel in both clinical research and animal models.

Methods

Relevant articles were searched in Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, and Google Scholar from inception to July 2023 using the keyword "Oxymel" and its equivalents in other languages. Animal and human interventional studies were selected from the search results for review.

Results

This review includes twenty studies, comprising twelve clinical trials, two case studies, and six animal studies. The most commonly reported actions of oxymel include positive effects on the cardiovascular system, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, compound oxymel formulations have demonstrated additional benefits depending on the inclusion of specific medicinal herbs.

Conclusion

Based on our findings, oxymel appears to be a valuable functional food for healthy individuals and a potentially effective and safe treatment option for managing certain diseases such as asthma, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. However, further clinical trials with larger sample sizes and longer durations are needed to fully elucidate the potential side effects and benefits of both simple and compound oxymels in various disease states.

Beneficial Medicinal Plants for Memory and Cognitive Functions Based on Traditional Persian Medicine

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most important causes of dementia, especially in the elderlies. Due to the failures of recent clinical trials in finding effective medications, it appears the use of complementary therapies such as Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) and the rich sources of effective herbs as well as their constituents for improving memory function could be beneficial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the recommended natural remedies in the TPM and examine their pharmacological properties. For this purpose, the data were collected by searching the recommended prescriptions of the seminal TPM textbooks. Then, the names of the most freuqently mentioned plants were extracted from the natural remedies and evaluated for their pharmacological properties. The sources included recently published articles cited in the major scientific databases. A total of 262 plants were identified in 96 evaluated prescriptions; 20 plants were identified with the most frequency of report (i.e. more than 10 times). Their neuroprotective effects, antioxidant features, and anti-AD properties were discussed. Based on our results, TPM has introduced many effective treatments for AD. Hence, more clinical studies are warranted to verify their efficacy and safety.