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Biomedical subjects

P Knipschild

Publications and source records attributed to P Knipschild.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Acupuncture and asthma: a review of controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Published controlled trials of acupuncture in asthma have often contained a small number of subjects and the results are contradictory. Controlled trials have been reviewed to determine whether clearer conclusions could be obtained by assessing as many studies as possible according to methodological criteria. METHODS: A literature search produced 13 trials on the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of patients with asthma. These studies were reviewed on the basis of 18 predefined methodological criteria. A maximum of 100 points for study design could be earned in three main categories: (a) adequate study population, (b) adequate intervention, and (c) adequate measurement of effects. RESULTS: The quality of even the eight better studies (more than 50% of the maximum score) proved to be mediocre. No study earned more than 72% of the maximum score. The results from the better studies are highly contradictory. CONCLUSIONS: Claims that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of asthma are not based on the results of well performed clinical trials.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1990

Serum lipids and gallstones: a case-control study.

The role of serum lipids in the etiology of cholesterol gallstones and pigment gallstones was assessed in a case-control study. The study included 250 cases with surgically or ultrasonographically confirmed cholecystolithiasis and 526 hospital control patients. The highest gallstone risk was found at low high-density cholesterol levels and high triglyceride levels. An additional weakly negative association was found between total cholesterol level and gallstone risk. These findings were similar for cholesterol gallstones and pigment gallstones. The association between body mass index and gallstone risk disappeared after adjustment for serum lipids in a multivariate analysis. This study confirms previous reports on the association between gallstone risk and serum lipids. The similarity between cholesterol and pigment gallstones with regard to their association with serum lipids indicates that these types of gallstones share more causal factors than previously suggested. The absence of an effect of body mass index independent from serum lipids (as shown by the multivariate analysis) suggests that serum lipids are more closely linked to the pathogenesis of gallstones than obesity.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Acupuncture and chronic pain: a criteria-based meta-analysis.

A literature search revealed 51 controlled clinical studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture in chronic pain. These studies were reviewed using a list of 18 predefined methodological criteria. A maximum of 100 points for study design could be earned in four main categories: (a) comparability of prognosis, (b) adequate intervention, (c) adequate effect measurement and (d) data presentation. The quality of even the better studies proved to be mediocre. No study earned more than 62% of the maximum score. The results from the better studies (greater than or equal to 50% of the maximum score) are highly contradictory. The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain remains doubtful.

Acupuncture Analgesia↗
PubMed1990

Legume intake and gallstone risk: results from a case-control study.

As legume intake was recently shown to increase biliary cholesterol saturation, it may be a risk factor for gallstone disease. Data from a case-control study in The Netherlands were analysed to confirm this hypothesis. A negative association was found between legume intake (including green beans) and gallstone risk. This appeared not to be explained by diminished legume intake in gallstone cases under the influence of gastrointestinal symptoms. We hypothesize that components from legume pulses (seeds) and pods may have opposite effects on the risk of gallstone development.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Vitamin B6 in the treatment of the premenstrual syndrome--a review.

A search of the literature yielded 12 controlled trials on vitamin B6 in the treatment of the premenstrual syndrome. These are discussed with emphasis on methodological aspects. A major drawback of the trials is the limited number of patients included. The existing evidence of positive effects of vitamin B6 is weak, and some well-designed trials with positive results would be needed to change this view.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug↗
PubMed1990

The prevalence of gallstone disease in a Dutch population.

The prevalence of gallstone disease was studied by ultrasound screening of a hospital population of 424 men and 631 women, admitted to the University Hospital Maastricht (The Netherlands) for elective surgery unrelated to gallstone disease. The prevalence increased with age. In the oldest age category (70 to 79 years) 16% of the men and 40% of the women had gallstone disease. The proportion of subjects with gallstone disease who had undergone cholecystectomy was 39% in men and 50% in women. The prevalence of gallstone disease in Maastricht lies on the lower side within the range of prevalences found in other West European countries.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A meta-analysis of studies into the effect of acupuncture on addiction.

A literature search revealed 22 controlled clinical studies on the efficacy of acupuncture in three fields of addiction: cigarette smoking (15), heroin (five), and alcohol (two). These studies were reviewed using a list of 18 predefined criteria of good methodology. A maximum of 100 points for study design could be earned, divided over four categories: comparability of prognosis; adequate intervention; adequate effect measurement; and good data presentation. The study design was generally poor. No study earned more than 75 points and 12 studies (55%) earned less than 50 points. For smoking cessation, the number of studies with negative outcomes exceeded by far the number with positive outcomes. Taking the quality of the studies into account this negative picture becomes even stronger. For heroin and alcohol addiction controlled clinical research is both scarce and of low quality. Claims that acupuncture is efficacious as a therapy for these addictions are thus not supported by results from sound clinical research.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1989

Vitamin E and cardiovascular disease.

Randomized clinical trials of the effects of Vitamin E on complaints of intermittent claudication and angina pectoris are reviewed, and their methodological shortcomings are considered. Mechanisms by which Vitamin E might act in cardiovascular disease are discussed. The evidence about the possible pharmacological actions of Vitamin E supports the need for randomized clinical trials. It is concluded that Vitamin E may have a positive effect, especially in intermittent claudication.

Angina Pectoris↗
PubMed1989

Garlic, onions and cardiovascular risk factors. A review of the evidence from human experiments with emphasis on commercially available preparations.

1. Claims for beneficial effects on cholesterol levels, fibrinolytic activity, and platelet aggregation are attributed both to fresh garlic and onions (or their extracts) and to commercially available preparations. 2. Regarding fresh garlic, the claims have been confirmed, but so far only at very high dosages. 3. For onions and commercially available supplements contradictory results have been reported. 4. All published trials showed severe methodological shortcomings. Some trials were not randomized and/or not blinded whilst this was possible, and in only one of every three studies more than 25 patients participated in each treatment group. In no trial was prognostic comparability of the treatment and the control groups ascertained. At the moment there is inadequate scientific justification for garlic supplementation.

Allium↗
PubMed1988

Looking for gall bladder disease in the patient's iris.

In alternative health care iridology is used as a diagnostic aid. The diagnosis of gall bladder disease was used to study its validity and interperformer consistency. The presence of an inflamed gall bladder containing gall stones is said to be easily recognised by certain signs in the lower lateral part of the iris of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye. Stereo colour slides were made of the right eye of 39 patients with this disease and 39 control subjects of the same sex and age. The slides were presented in a random order to five leading iridologists without supplementary information. The prevalence of the disease was estimated at 56%. The median validity was 51% with 54% sensitivity and 52% specificity. These results were close to chance validity (iota = 0.03). None of the iridologists reached a high validity. The median interperformer consistency was 60%. This was only slightly higher than chance consistency (kappa = 0.18). This study showed that iridology is not a useful diagnostic aid.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed1985

Road traffic noise annoyance in Amsterdam.

3445 persons living in Amsterdam (1507 male and 1938 female), aged 41-43 years, participated in an investigation in which the relationship was studied between the (measured) road traffic noise in front of the houses in which the participants lived, and the (reported) resulting annoyance and sleep disturbance. We found a smaller number of persons with annoyance and sleep disturbance than we had expected as a result of other investigations. Considerable differences in the annoyance experience were found for different categories of noise-sensitivity. Furthermore, a negative appreciation of other environmental noises and of the living environment increased the prevalence of traffic noise annoyance. Noise sensitivity and this appreciation are mutually dependent: noise-sensitive people have a greater risk of being annoyed by other sounds (aeroplanes, neighbours, work) as well, and they have less appreciation of their living environment. Noise-sensitivity appears to be more strongly represented amongst persons with a higher socio-economic status. In favour of the point of view that an important contribution to annoyance is of nonacoustic character, is the finding that both annoyance and sleep disturbance are greater amongst people who keep their windows closed at the exposed side of their home.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Gastric cancer in coal miners: a case-control study in a coal mining area.

In collaboration with three pathology departments a case-control study was conducted in the southern part of the Netherlands to investigate the risk of gastric cancer in coal miners. Between 1 January 1973 and 31 December 1983, 323 male patients were diagnosed as having a malignant neoplasm of the stomach. For each case a control was selected from the same pathology department, matched on year of birth and regardless of diagnosis. The archives of the Central Coal Miners Pension Fund were searched to obtain information about whether or not a patient had ever worked for a coal mining company in the Netherlands. Twenty two per cent of the patients had been registered as an underground coal miner, compared with 20% of the control group (odds ratio of 1.14, 95% confidence interval: 0.33-1.73). Those with gastric cancer who had ever worked underground in a coal mine did so for an average period of 16.9 years compared with an average of 19.7 years in the control group. The study gives no indication that the underground workers of the Dutch coal mines had a raised risk of developing a malignant neoplasm of the stomach.

Adult↗