Study database
Searches the literature by a method fixed in advance. It shows reliably what exists, and just as reliably what is missing.
MUMultiple species
Across 123 papers in horse and human, favourable results for platelet-rich plasma occurred mostly in studies at high risk of bias, whereas absent effects were more common in methodologically better studies.
HOHorse
Across 85 studies with 2,101 horses the digital flexor tendon sheath was most often affected, and the probability of returning to the previous level of performance was around 50 per cent for most structures.
MUMultiple species
Structured mapping review with a systematic literature search: acute phase proteins are elevated in diseased animals, yet the available research does not support their use to steer antibiotic treatment; in horses, serum amyloid A points to the underlying cause at best faintly.
HUHuman
Systematic review of 15 randomised trials: there was no relation between the extent of CRP lowering and the extent of risk reduction; a benefit of CRP as a treatment target is plausible at most in people with a high residual inflammatory risk despite normal blood lipids.
HUHuman
Systematic review of 23 studies: exercise programmes were most likely to lower CRP, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha, more clearly in healthy older people than in those with disease; no study observed an intensification of inflammation through training.
HOHorse
From 2,275 hits, 44 studies with 6,092 horses were evaluated; a meta-analysis was impossible because of heterogeneity, and the relationship between lavage cell profile and lung function proved the least consistent.
HUHuman
Short-term raised fine particulate and nitrogen dioxide levels probably increase asthma-related hospital admissions and emergency consultations, while the benefit of measures to reduce outdoor air pollution is only weakly supported.
HUHuman
From 26 before-and-after studies it emerged that complete removal from exposure improved symptoms and lung function, whereas mere reduction improved only the symptoms; the certainty of the evidence was rated as very low.
HUHuman
Across 14 methodological reviews holding data from 1,583 meta-analyses on 228 conditions, the effect estimates of randomised and observational studies did not differ meaningfully on average; 11 of the 14 reviews found no difference at all.
MUMultiple species
For six treatments with a clear clinical result, animal experiment and clinical trial disagreed on several counts: tirilazad shrank the infarct area by 29 per cent in the animal model, while stroke patients given it fared worse.
MUMultiple species
Across 31 systematic reviews of animal studies, 29 per cent of the individual studies reported a randomisation, 15 per cent a concealed allocation and 35 per cent a blinded outcome assessment; missing randomisation enlarged the effect estimates.
HUHuman
In the same review (8 randomised trials, 447 adults), certainty was rated moderate for the outcome of cure and very low for bone density at the lumbar spine.
HOHorse
Of 7,009 publications screened, nine met the criteria; the risk of bias was moderate to high and the groups were small, and the authors saw only a minimal or limited benefit for all the drugs examined, both preventively and after infection.
MUMultiple species
Of 5,385 publications screened, 41 were included, on average 3.7 per procedure; 20 of them carried a high risk of bias and the evidence was sufficient for no clinical application in horses, dogs or cats.
HUHuman
Nine randomised trials with 305 participants (one of them with horses) yielded low certainty for a slight reduction in depressive symptoms and no clear effect on quality of life; every trial was at high risk of performance bias.
HOHorse
From 3,756 publications screened, 58 studies with 22 categories of risk factor remained; in the systematic part on management changes, 8 of 14 studies failed to meet the criterion for handling confounders, with feed changes and a recent change of housing forming the largest blocks of evidence.
HOHorse
Of 3,024 publications screened, 104 met the criteria and only 42 reported technique and outcome in an analysable way; survival rates were above 70 per cent across all anastomotic techniques, though the authors rate the quality of the evidence as low.
HUHuman
Of 20 status markers examined across 21 publications, only serum or plasma magnesium, magnesium in red blood cells and urinary excretion responded measurably to a change in intake; for the rest the data supported no verdict.
HUHuman
Eight small trials with 576 women: the results for magnesium were contradictory and reported so differently that no pooling was possible; the certainty of the evidence was rated low to very low.
HUHuman
Across 185 prospective studies and 58 trials (nearly 135 million person-years), high versus low fibre intake was associated with 15 to 30 per cent lower mortality and disease incidence, with the greatest benefit at 25 to 29 grams per day; certainty of evidence moderate.
MUMultiple species
Scoping review of 121 reviews: the transfer rates reported range from 0 to 100 per cent; because of high risk of bias and outdated material, the authors consider the cumulative evidence insufficient and the success of transfer unpredictable.
MUMultiple species
Five preclinical studies in 150 animals reported complete regression of up to 100 per cent (injected tumours) and 80 per cent (non-injected); clinically the highest complete response rate was 24 per cent, and 0 per cent in one study, with a consistently high risk of bias.
HOHorse
Ten studies: reported regression rates of 28 to 100 per cent per lesion and 9 to 100 per cent per horse, risk of bias running from ‘some concerns’ to ‘critical’; the evidence is not sufficient to recommend one treatment over another.
Once a month: new syntheses, checked studies, and what has changed in the state of the evidence.