Antidepressants for bipolar disorder A meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials

OBJECTIVE： To examine the efficacy and safety of short-term and long-term use of antidepres- sants in the treatment of bipolar disorder. DATA SOURCES： A literature search of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials published until December 2012 was performed using the PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Medline and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. The keywords ＂bipolar disorder, bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, bipolar mania, bipolar depression, cyclothymia, mixed mania and depression, rapid cycling and bipolar disorder＂, AND ＂antidepressant agent, antidepressive agents second- generation, antidepressive agents tricyclic, monoamine oxidase inhibitor, noradrenaline uptake in- hibitor, serotonin uptake inhibitor, and tricyclic antidepressant agent＂ were used. The studies that were listed in the reference list of the published papers but were not retrieved in the above-mentioned databases were supplemented. STUDY SELECTION： Studies selected were double-blind randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy and safety of antidepressants in patients with bipolar disorder. All participants were aged 18 years or older, and were diagnosed as having primary bipolar disorder. Antidepressants or antidepressants combined with mood stabilizers were used in experimental interventions. Placebos, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics and other antide pressants were used in the control interventions. Studies that were quasi-randomized studies, or used antidepressants in combination with antipsy- chotics in the experimental group were excluded. All analyses were conducted using Review Man- ager 5.1 provided by the Cochrane Collaboration.

Prognostic significance of malignant ascites in gastric cancer patients with peritoneal metastasis: A systemic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Recent evidence indicates that malignant ascites may be associated with the high malignancy and poor prognosis of gastric cancer(GC)with peritoneal metastasis(PM),but no robust consensus has been reached until now.AIM To evaluate the prognostic significance of malignant ascites in GC patients with PM.METHODS Two independent authors conducted database searches.The searches were performed in the EMBASE,PubMed,and Cochrane Library databases,and the terms used to search included stomach neoplasms,GC,ascites,peritoneal effusion,survival,and survival analysis.Outcomes included overall survival and hazard ratios with 95%confidence intervals(CIs).Three pairs of comparisons for measuring survival were made:(1)Patients with ascites vs those without ascites;(2)Patients with massive ascites vs those with mild to moderate ascites;and(3)Patients with massive ascites vs those with no to moderate ascites.RESULTS Fourteen articles including fifteen studies were considered in the final analysis.Among them,nine studies assessed the difference in prognosis between patients with and without malignant ascites.A pooled HR of 1.63(95%CI:1.47-1.82,P<0.00001)indicated that GC patients with malignant ascites had a relatively poor prognosis compared to patients without ascites.We also found that the prognosis of GC patients with malignant ascites was related to the volume of ascites in the six other studies.CONCLUSION GC patients with malignant ascites tend to have a worse prognosis,and the volume of ascites has an impact on GC outcomes.