Types of Short-Duration Electrical Stimulation-Induced Efficiency in the Axonal Regeneration and Recovery: Comparative in Vivo Study in Rat Model of Repaired Sciatic Nerve and its Tibial Branch after Transection Injury.

The restoration of adequate function and sensation in nerves following an injury is often insufficient. Electrical stimulation (ES) applied during nerve repair can promote axon regeneration, which may enhance the likelihood of successful functional recovery. However, increasing operation time and complexity are associated with limited clinical use of ES. This study aims to better assess whether short-duration ES types (voltage mode vs. current mode) are able to produce enhanced regenerative activity following peripheral nerve repair in rat models. Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: no ES (control), 30-minute ES with a current pulse, and 30-minute ES with a voltage pulse. All groups underwent sciatic nerve transection and repair using a silicone tube to bridge the 6-mm gap between the stumps. In the 2 groups other than the control, ES was applied after the surgical repair. Outcomes were evaluated using electrophysiology, histology, and serial walking track analysis. Biweekly walking tracks test over 12 weeks revealed that subjects that underwent ES experienced more rapid functional improvement than subjects that underwent repair alone. Electrophysiological analysis of the newly intratubular sciatic nerve at week 12 revealed strong motor function recovery in rats that underwent 30-minute ES. Histologic analysis of the sciatic nerve and its tibial branch at 12 weeks demonstrated robust axon regrowth in all groups. Both types of short-duration ES applied during nerve repair can promote axon regrowth and enhance the chances of successful functional recovery.

The effectiveness of FOBT vs. FIT: A meta-analysis on colorectal cancer screening test.

BACKGROUND: After lung and prostate cancers, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer worldwide. Every year, more than one million people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer worldwide and half of these patients die from this disease, making it the fourth leading cause of death in the world. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of the two colorectal diagnostic tests of FOBT (fecal occult blood test) and FIT (fecal immunochemical test)) in terms of technical performance. METHODS: To retrieve the relevant evidence, appropriate medical databases such as Cochrane library, NHSEED, Scopus and Google scholar were searched from February 2013 to July 2014, using free-texts and Mesh. In this study, inclusion/exclusion criteria of the papers, randomized controlled trials, economic evaluations, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and meta-syntheses of the effectiveness of FIT versus FOBT tests in moderate-risk populations (age: 50 to 70 years), which had reported the least of such outcomes as sensitivity, specificity and clinical outcomes were reviewed. The analyses of the effectiveness outcomes were performed in the form of meta-analysis. RESULTS: Five papers were eligible to be included in the final phase of the study for synthesis. FIT showed a better performance in participation and positivity rate. Moreover, in terms of false positive and negative rate, FIT showed fewer rates compared to FOBT (RR:-4.06; 95% CI (-7.89-0.24), and NN-scope (Number need to scope) (2.2% vs. 1.6%), and NN-screen (Number need to screen) (84% vs. 31-49% in different cut off levels) showed significant differences in FOBT vs. FIT, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the five included studies (3, 11-14), the acceptability of FIT was more than FOBT. However, in our meta-analysis, no difference was found between the two tests. FIT was significant in positivity rate and had a better performance in participation rate, and a fewer false negative numbers compared to FOBT.