When someone asks me what I do, and I reply with something like ‘I’m an evidence synthesis researcher,’ they are usually having a hard time understanding that. It need not be this way. In fact, knowledge synthesis is something everybody does every day of their lives. [Thread] 👇 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1617772138529959938.html

Why are we still looking through guidelines to get a clinical answer? Naturally, we need a chatbot that was trained on these guidelines so we can simply ask⚡️ [Thread] 👇 https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1625440702640406528.html

Eight months ago, an important study was out, with its results relevant for 200 million people, but went largerly unnoticed. Wut? Zheln finds out👇 Thread #1

The International Olympic Committee recognized beetroot as a potent performance booster, among other nitrate supplements. Everybody else claims beetroot is “powerful” stuff to take before exercise. Is it? Zheln collected and appraised current research using @WriteInStonePublic and found no ground for such optimism, even though there are data from dozens of trials that might come useful in specific contexts. Watch popular internet claims smash against evidence: https://zheln.com/thread/2023/12/28/1/

No evidence cranberry juice is helpful for urinary infections in pregnancy, multiple studies find.

There is a mild preventative effect among children and non-pregnant women with recurrent UTIs ­– but those findings are still provisional. Learn the evidence feat. a @WriteInStonePublic video bibliography.

How can doctors know which cancer treatment is better? One way is by riding slugs.

Learn how and pick the best cancer treatment option based on bleeding-edge scientific evidence from human trials: https://zheln.com/thread/2024/01/11/1/

If you feel critical about this post, we invite you to review its video bibliography, captured with @WriteInStonePublic, and drop any criticisms in the comments. Pavel Zhelnov, MD, will address all valid concerns and acknowledge the peer reviewers in the following Zheln post. We look forward to reading your messages.

Tamiflu is a widely advertised anti-flu drug that failed to show dramatic effects in clinical trials. Powered by @WriteInStonePublic, we revisit the evidence in light of a major 2023 meta-analysis and argue why highlighing failures might be as important as distilling benefits.

Seatbelt promotion works, but how well? 60% of drivers still don’t use seat belts, and even more passengers. Tracking steps with @WriteInStonePublic software, we discuss a recent systematic review that looked at the effectiveness of seat-belt promotion more closely.

Gentle human touch was shown to reduce pain in newborn babies. A new systematic review found that neonates do suffer from airway suctioning, but careful positioning likely alleviates pain. How did researchers measure it? Follow our steps using @WriteInStonePublic in a new Zheln post.

Zheln went #SocialFi, and here is a short post on opioid use disorder: https://hey.xyz/posts/0x04fcbd-0x05

What evidence do we have of the association between fluoride exposure and thyroid function? Check this funny summary of findings table: https://hey.xyz/posts/0x04fcbd-0x08-DA-a7d09302

Zheln’s (impolite) take on hazard vs. risk and some pieces of health research – and their authoritative academic publishers – that still fail to use a comprehensive search strategy in a systematic review and overlook the existence of ROBINS-E in 2024: https://hey.xyz/posts/0x04fcbd-0x09-DA-2c9ba1a1

Probiotics won’t make you poop, but lactulose will, with moderate certainty.

Taking lactulose for an average of 4 weeks leads to at least one more additional stool per week in adults with positive Rome criteria for constipation.

This post has been immortalized on a blockchain.

Can Universal Basic Income solve the problem of poverty? *

According to statistics, low income levels are associated with higher mortality rates and worse outcomes in the treatment of chronic diseases. Moreover, a report by the World Bank and World Health Organization shows that high healthcare costs push many people to the brink of poverty, forcing them to choose between buying food and paying for medical services.

To address this issue, the idea of introducing Universal Basic Income (UBI)—an untouchable sum granted to every member of society—has been discussed for many years. However, critics are skeptical of UBI, citing a lack of evidence on the strategic effectiveness of such a solution.

A new study published in the Campbell Systematic Reviews database sheds light on this issue. The authors conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of various forms of UBI on poverty-related indicators.