Women’s groups practising participatory learning and action improve key behaviours on the pathway to neonatal mortality

Objectives:
The World Health Organization recommends participatory learning and action (PLA) in women’s groups to improve maternal and newborn health, particularly in rural settings with low access to health services. There have been calls to understand the pathways through which this community intervention may affect neonatal mortality. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Regular aerobic exercise delays cognitive decline among individuals having Alzheimer's disease

Objectives:
Does exercise training delay the decline in cognitive function among individuals who are at risk of/or have Alzheimer's disease?  

Study design:

This review article included 19 controlled studies with 23 interventions including 1,145 subjects with a mean age of 77.0 ± 7.5.
The studies included an exercise-only intervention and a nondiet, nonexercise control group and reported pre- and post-intervention cognitive function measurements.

Zinc deficiency increases risk of autoimmune disorders

Objectives:
Zinc is an essential trace element for living organisms and their biological processes. Zinc plays a key role in more than 300 enzymes and it is involved in cell communication, proliferation, differentiation and survival. Zinc also plays a role in regulating the immune system with implications in pathologies where zinc deficiency and inflammation are observed. Therefore, this meta-analysis (systematic review) has been conducted.

Do zinc deficiency increase risk of autoimmune disorders?

Atovaquone/proguanil therapy is comparable in efficacy to ACT used in treating uncomplicated malaria

Objectives:
Atovaquone/proguanil, registered as Malarone®, is a fixed-dose combination recommended for first-line treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in non-endemic countries and its prevention in travellers. Mutations in the cytochrome bc1 complex are causally associated with atovaquone resistance. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Daily higher cooked tomatoes and sauces consumption reduces prostate cancer risk

Objectives:
Does the consumption of various types of tomato products reduce prostate cancer risk and is there a potential dose-response relationship?

Study design:
This review article included 30 studies, which summarized data from 24,222 cases (subjects with prostate cancer) among 260,461 participants.

Results and conclusions:
The investigators found that higher total tomato consumption was associated with a reduced risk of 19% for prostate cancer [RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71 to 0.92, p = 0.001].

ABT results in higher efficacy than QBT in the second and third trimester of pregnancy with uncomplicated falciparum malaria

Objectives:
There is no agreed standard method to assess the efficacy of antimalarial drugs for uncomplicated falciparum in pregnancy despite an increased risk of adverse outcomes for the mother and the fetus. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.

Resveratrol supplements do not reduce LDL-cholesterol levels

Objectives:
New studies indicate that resveratrol can significantly reduce plasma lipids, but the result of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on resveratrol effect and the serum lipid profile are contradictory. Therefore, this review article (meta-analysis) has been conducted.  

Do resveratrol supplements reduce plasma lipids, like cholesterol levels?

Study design:
This review article included 21 RCTs.

Results and conclusions: