Tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α is a proinflammatory proatherogenic cytokine. Infliximab, an anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody, is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. However, its impact on cardiovascular burden and lipid transport is unclear. The present study investigates the effect of TNF-α and infliximab on reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) proteins. Uptake of modified lipoproteins b...

OBJECTIVES To assess how the inclusion of N-of-1 trial data into randomized controlled trial (RCT) meta-analyses impacts the magnitude and precision of yielded treatment effects, using amphetamines and methylphenidate for pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a model. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING We combined the N-of-1 and RCT data generated from previously conducted systematic re...

BACKGROUND Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are an important source of evidence for clinical practice, but finding and applying RCT reports to care is time consuming. Publishing RCTs directly into machine-understandable "trial banks" may allow computers to deliver RCT evidence more selectively and effectively to clinicians. METHODS Authors of eligible RCTs published in JAMA or the Annals of ...

OBJECTIVE The intestinal microbiota is emerging as a clinically relevant modulator of atherosclerotic risk. Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) is an atheroprotective metabolic pathway. How the microbiota impacts RCT has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize (cholesterol) metabolism and RCT in germ-free mice compared with conventional mice. APPROACH AND R...

Inflammatory external root resorption (IERR) is a pathological phenomenon of microbial origin. This study reports a case of external apical inflammatory root resorption of maxillary incisors associated with periradicular lesions in a 22 year old female, which was successfully treated by one-visit root canal therapy (RCT). Radiographic investigation revealed periapical radiolucencies in the uppe...

INTRODUCTION Pain present 6 months after root canal treatment (RCT) may be of odontogenic or nonodontogenic origin. This is important because treatments and prognoses are different; therefore, the aim of this study was to provide specific diagnoses of patients reporting pain 6 months after receiving initial orthograde RCT. METHODS We enrolled patients from the Midwest region of an existing pr...

Little is known about how to systematically integrate complex qualitative studies within the context of randomized controlled trials. A two-phase sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted in Canada to understand how women decide to disclose intimate partner violence in emergency department settings. Mixing a RCT (with a subanalysis of data) with a grounded theory approach require...

BACKGROUND Reporting quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts is important as readers often make their first judgments based on the abstracts. This study aims to assess the reporting quality of psychiatry RCT abstracts published before and after the release of Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials for Abstracts (CONSORT-A) guidelines. METHODS MEDLINE/PubMed search was condu...

The double blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) is considered the gold-standard in clinical research. Evidence for the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions should rely on well conducted RCTs. The importance of RCTs for clinical practice can be illustrated by its impact on the shift of practice in hormone replacement therapy (HRT). For decades HRT was considered the standard care for al...

Background. In a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) in obese adolescents, 18 month-treatment with metformin versus placebo was reported to lead to stabilisation of the BMI. This study aimed to compare the effect of metformin on BMI in obese adolescents in daily practice versus results obtained in an RCT. Methods. Obese adolescents treated off label with metformin in daily practice in an o...