Around the world, about 15 to 40% of individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) rely on cannabis and cannabinoids to reduce the need for other medications, as well as increase appetite and reduce pain. Whereas more and more patients continue to report benefits accruing from cannabis and cannabinoid usage in IBD, agreement relative to the use of cannabis and its derivatives in IBD remains unclear. This paper reviewed the interplay between cannabinoid use and IBD disease treatment, remission, or symptom relief. The study was conducted from a systematic review perspective. It involved consulting literature from published original research articles, noting outcomes, and performing a meta-analysis to identify trends and draw conclusions. The selected articles were those that had been published in a 10-year period ranging between 2012 and 2022. The motivation was to ensure recency and also relevance to contemporary scientific research and clinical environment practices. Indeed, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework helped in answering the focal question of the investigation, which revolved around whether cannabinoids are beneficial to IBD treatment and to what extent. The aim of using this protocol was to ensure the satisfaction of the article exclusion and inclusion criteria, as well as ensure the utilization of articles directly contributing to the central subject under investigation. In the findings, it was established that on the one hand, cannabinoid usage in IBD treatment comes with promising results as reported in the majority of the selected studies which reported reduced clinical complications which were assessed using Mayo scores, Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score, weight gain, enhanced patient health perception, Lichtiger Index and Harvey-Bradshaw Index or general wellbeing. On the other hand, cannabinoid use remains questionable because evidence of high quality is yet to surface vividly, especially in terms of the mode of administration and the appropriate dose. It is also notable that the findings were characterized by a state of high heterogeneity in terms of the study designs of the studies that were selected, disease activity indices, the duration of treatment by different scholarly researchers, the difference in the modes of administration of cannabinoid and cannabis by different researchers, variations in cannabis dosage, differences in the selected studies' inclusion criteria, and variations in their case definitions. The implication is that whereas the efficacy of cannabinoid use in IBD treatment was reported in most studies, outcome generalizability from the review was highly likely to be restricted. In the future, it is recommended that randomized controlled trials center, set universal parameters for IBD treatment using cannabis and cannabinoids to determine intervention safety and effectiveness as well as having homogenous outcomes that can be compared between different studies. In so doing, the appropriate dose and ideal mode ...
Background: Pancreatic cancer can be a very debilitating disease. In the USA and around the world, pancreatic cancer is among the causes of cancer-related deaths. This study aims to highlight mortality and incidence rates of pancreatic cancer by geographic location.Methods: The study area is the state of Mississippi with a targeted time period between 2003 and 2019. The Mississippi Cancer Registry is the source of data for this study. The subject under investigation was divided into two phases. The first phase involved analyzing data on the incidence rate while the second phase entailed data analysis of the pancreatic cancer mortality rate in Mississippi. In both phases, the focus was on three categories of geographic locations in Mississippi, which include public health districts, the regional cancer coalitions in the state, and the interplay between rural and urban locations. Descriptive and inferential statistical approaches with graphical techniques and tabulations were utilized in data presentation.Results: The results of this study demonstrate there are variations in the incidence rates of pancreatic cancer by geographic location in Mississippi. In the data analysis of the Mississippi public health districts, the worst-hit areas include the rural communities in the rural-urban regional analysis, the Delta region among the cancer coalition regions, and the Central District (incidence rates) and North District (mortality rates). Conclusion:In Mississippi, there is a need for aggressive community-based participation and education. This approach will help improve screening and early detection of pancreatic cancer. Healthcare intake should be boosted and geared toward a reduction in mortality rates. To minimize disparities that eventually lead to differences in disease incidence and mortality from different locations, legislative and nonlegislative authorities should advocate for equitable distribution of healthcare resources. An understanding of the geographic distribution of pancreatic cancer in a state will aid in the designation of specific primary prevention measures targeted in the worst-hit communities.
Background: The aim of this study is to give insight into the falling trend in gastric cancer epidemiology in the state of Mississippi. The period in focus is between 2003 and 2019. The aim of this study is to uncover what the state got right and the implications for future healthcare. Methodology: The data for this study was collected from the Mississippi state cancer registry. The geographic locations in focus are the state’s cancer coalition regions. The data is presented in tables and graphs, with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: An assessment of the respective cancer coalition regions reveals a notable decline in gastric cancer incidence rates between 2003 and 2009. The areas where the state got right were found to include evaluation and surveillance, environmental, systems, and policy changes, treatment, survivorship, early detection, and prevention. Conclusion: Given that the state is predominantly rural, it is recommended that additional innovative approaches are explored and implemented, including telemedicine implementation to foster real-time services regarding community health education and dissemination or messaging about actions such as gastric cancer screening and the needed environmental changes such as nutrition guideline adherence.
Dysfunction of the cervical spine and its anatomical features, mostly innervated by the C1, C2, and C3 spinal nerves, can result in a secondary headache known as cervicogenic headache (CHA), mainly characterized by unilateral pain. The usefulness of pharmaceutical medications and physical therapy is currently the subject of scant literature. Interventional pain management techniques can be applied when conservative treatment is unsuccessful. This study looks at radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and epidural steroid injection (ESI) to identify their safety and efficacy in managing patients with cervicogenic headaches and neck pain. Three databases -PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL Library, and Embase were searched, and 110 studies were identified. Nine screening processes were included for review and meta-analysis. Statistical evaluation was conducted through STATA version 17 (College Station, TX: StataCorp LLC) and effect measures were reported through random effects model risk ratios. The main subject of focus included three following outcomes: incidences of pain relief, degree and duration of pain, and incidences of adverse effects. The findings showed both interventions relieved pain by a factor of >50%, demonstrating a relative effects risk
For morbid obesity, one of the treatment options that have been deemed the most effective is bariatric surgery. Specifically, endoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (ESG) has emerged as one of the minimally invasive procedures for weight loss to be developed recently. In this procedure, there is the endoscopic placement of sutures in a quest to ensure reductions in the stomach volume. In this review, the main aim was to review the literature concerning ESG's efficacy and safety. Secondary sources of data were used and electronic databases were searched to identify articles focused on assessing the safety or efficacy of ESG. They included several databases such as Clinicaltrials.gov, Embase (Excerpta Medica Database), and MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, or MEDLARS Online) to select relevant articles. Both the titles and abstracts of the articles were used to determine their inclusion or exclusion from the current review. Additionally, some keywords were used to search and obtain relevant articles such as: ESG, obesity, bariatric surgery, and total body weight loss. This review relied on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework for the identification of articles, screening, determination of eligibility, and inclusion and exclusion as deemed appropriate. From the findings, the review established that ESG is effective when used as an alternative intervention for obesity. The beneficial effects are felt particularly in terms of the procedure's capacity to ensure that the total body weight loss mean percentage is significant. Apart from the benefit of ensuring weight loss, ESG was also found to impair gastric emptying, pose metabolic effects that are key to controlling obesity-associated metabolic dysregulation, and the ability to increase satiety. However, the procedure was documented to yield a few adverse events in some studies. Some of the notable adverse events include pulmonary embolism, potential pneumoperitoneum, and possible post-procedure leak in the posterior aspect of the gastric fundus as sutures exert tension and also cause thin walls. Emerging as a minimally-invasive procedure, ESG is a costeffective alternative through which weight loss can be achieved significantly in obese populations. It leads to a slowdown of gastric emptying, causes an increase in satiety, and leads to an improvement in the metabolic profile. Therefore, for obese individuals not undergoing bariatric surgery, ESG can be an ideal treatment option, including individuals in need of a bridge to surgery and also those diagnosed with moderate obesity. Overall, when it comes to the management of obesity, this review established that ESG provides a paradigm shift targeting existing therapeutic gaps.
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