BACKGROUND AND AIMS The primary aim of the present review was to summarize the findings of genetic studies conducted on problem and pathological gambling. METHOD Literature searches were conducted using PubMed, Medline and the HuGE Navigator databases using the keywords 'gambling' and 'genetic*'. RESULTS The literature searches identified 21 empirical studies that had analyzed data from eig...

PURPOSE There is strong evidence supporting the link between nonadherence to antipsychotic medication and relapse of schizophrenia. However, less obvious are the economic consequences of nonadherence. The systematic review reported here evaluated the economic aspects of nonadherence to antipsychotic medication. METHODS A systematic review of scientific papers in the PubMed MEDLINE, Embase, Ps...

BACKGROUND Menarche is the first menstrual period of a girl at puberty. The timing of menarche is important for health in later life. Age at menarche is a complex trait and has a strong genetic component. This review summarizes the results of the genetic studies of age at menarche conducted to date, highlights existing problems in this area and outlines prospects of future studies on genetic fa...

Influenza vaccination programmes are assumed to have a herd effect and protect contacts of vaccinated persons from influenza virus infection. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Global Health and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) from inception to March 2014 for studies assessing the protective effect of ...

BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognized threat to global public health. Increasing AMR and a dry pipeline of novel antimicrobial drugs have put AMR in the international spotlight. One strategy to combat AMR is to reduce antimicrobial drug consumption. Governments around the world have been experimenting with different policy interventions, such as regulating where antimicrobia...

BACKGROUND We conducted in two parts a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on electronic symptom reporting between patients and providers to improve health care service quality. Part 1 reviewed the typology of patient groups, health service innovations, and research targets. Four innovation categories were identified: consultation support, monitoring with clinician support,...

OBJECTIVES To review UK guidelines regarding the use of financial incentives for healthcare professionals to become involved in clinical trials, and to survey perceptions and current practice. DATA SOURCES Electronic databases were searched from inception to June 2006. Interviews were held with NHS healthcare professionals, research managers from the pharmaceutical industry and members of the...

BACKGROUND Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for medically refractory essential tremor (ET). This article reviews the current evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of DBS targets, including the ventral intermediate (VIM) nucleus and posterior subthalamic area (PSA) in treatment of ET. METHODS A structured PubMed search was performed through December 2012 with keyw...

AIM To appraise the quality of published pharmacoeconomic studies of therapeutic interventions for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS Systematic review of the literature and evaluation of study quality using the Quality of Health Economic Studies instrument. A systematic search of the English-language literature for economic studies of therapeutic interventions for AMD from 1990 ...