Chronic diseases

Objectives:
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is an antioxidant that can regenerate glutathione and is primarily used for acetaminophen overdose. NAC has been tested and used for preventing iatrogenic acute kidney injury or slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease, with mixed results. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Has NAC administration a positive effect on the serum creatinine level and the serum cystatin C level?

Objectives:
Resistant starch type 2 (RS2) has been documented to regulate gut microbiota and to improve the clinical outcomes of several diseases. However, whether RS2 may benefit patients with end-stage renal disease under maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) remains unknown. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Objectives:
What are the blood concentrations of zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, selenium and copper of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)?

Study design:
This review article included 32 studies with 1,567 MS patients and 1,328 controls (people without MS).

Results and conclusions:

Objectives:
Migraine is a common disease worldwide and migraine prevention is primarily currently based on pharmaceuticals. The mechanism of vitamin B2 may positively contribute to migraine. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Objectives:
Does coenzyme Q10 supplementation improve oxidative stress variables?

Study design:
This review article included 17 RCTs with 972 participants.

Results and conclusions:

Objectives:
L-carnitine is an amino acid derivative that is thought to be helpful for treating renal anemia in hemodialysis patients. However, the mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Does L-carnitine supplementation/therapy have positive effects on renal anemia in hemodialysis patients?

Study design:
This review article included 18 RCTs with 1,090 participants.

Objectives:
Does vitamin B supplementation have positive effects on patients with mouth ulcers?

Study design:
This review article included 16 RCTs with 1,534 patients (767 in the treatment group and 767 in the control group).
Patients who did not receive treatment were taken as controls, while those who were treated with vitamin B alone or vitamin B combined with pantothenic acid were included in the treatment group.

Results and conclusions:

Objectives:
The literature showed that grape products containing polyphenols (GPCP) had anti-oxidant activity. However, the effects of GPCP on different biomarkers of oxidative stress are still controversial. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Does supplementation of grape products containing polyphenols improve status of oxidative stress (like TAC, ORAC and SOD)?

Study design:
This review article included 17 eligible RCTs with a total of 633 participants.

Objectives:
Does supplementation of thiamine (vitamin B1) combined vitamin C reduce mortality in patients with sepsis or septic shock?

Study design:
This review article included 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total of 868 patients.

Objectives:
Patients with kidney failure often present with reduced cardiovascular functional reserve and exercise tolerance. Previous studies on cardiorespiratory fitness examined with cardiopulmonary-exercise-testing (CPET) in kidney-transplant-recipients (KTR) had variable results. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.

Does cardiovascular functional reserve improve after kidney-transplantation?

Study design:
This review article included 8 studies with 461 participants.