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Pelvic floor trauma during childbirth is highly prevalent and is associated with long term risks of incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Societies and organizations have published clinical guidelines in order to standardise and improve the management of perineal care. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the quality of clinical guidelines on obstetric perineal trauma and care using the AGREE II instrument. We searched Medline, PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases from inception until the 15th of December 2018 using the terms "guideline" OR "guidelines", OR "guidance", OR "recommendation" AND "obstetric anal sphincter injury", OR "perineal laceration" OR "perineal tear" OR "perineal trauma" OR "vaginal tear". Twelve guidelines were included, in English and Spanish.The assessment of the guidelines was performed using AGREE II by 5 appraisers.Ten guidelines scored more than 50 %, and 3 of them scored higher than 70 %. Two guidelines scored <50 % and were considered as low quality. Level of evidence and grade of recommendations were used by 7 guidelines of the 12 guidelines. Although some guidelines received high scores, there is space for improvement of the standards of guidelines.

BACKGROUND Prolonged amenorrhoea occurs as a consequence of functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea (FHA) which is most often induced by weight loss, vigorous exercise or emotional stress. Unfortunately, removal of these triggers does not always result in the return of menses. The prevalence and conditions underlying the timing of return of menses vary strongly and some women report amenorrhoea several years after having achieved and maintained normal weight and/or energy balance. A better understanding of these factors would also allow improved counselling in the context of infertility. Although BMI, percentage body fat and hormonal parameters are known to be involved in the initiation of the menstrual cycle, their role in the physiology of return of menses is currently poorly understood. We summarise here the current knowledge on the epidemiology and physiology of return of menses. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The aim of this review was to provide an overview of (i) factors determining the recovery of menses and its timing, (ii) how such factors may exert their physiological effects and (iii) whether there are useful therapeutic options to induce recovery. SEARCH METHODS We searched articles published in English, French or German language containing keywords related to return of menses after FHA published in PubMed between 1966 and February 2020. Manuscripts reporting data on either the epidemiology or the physiology of recovery of menses were included and bibliographies were reviewed for further relevant literature. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) criteria served to assess quality of observational studies. OUTCOMES Few studies investigate return of menses and most of them have serious qualitative and methodological limitations. These include (i) the lack of precise definitions for FHA or resumption of menses, (ii) the use of short observation periods with unsatisfactory descriptions and (iii) the inclusion of poorly characterised small study groups. The comparison of studies is further hampered by very inhomogeneous study designs. Consequently, the exact prevalence of resumption of menses after FHA is unknown. Also, the timepoint of return of menses varies strongly and reliable prediction models are lacking. While weight, body fat and energy availability are associated with the return of menses, psychological factors also have a strong impact on the menstrual cycle and on behaviour known to increase the risk of FHA. Drug therapies with metreleptin or naltrexone might represent further opportunities to increase the chances of return of menses, but these require further evaluation. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Although knowledge on the physiology of return of menses is presently rudimentary, the available data indicate the importance of BMI/weight (gain), energy balance and mental health. The physiological processes and genetics underlying the impact of these factors on the return of menses require further research. Larger prospective studies are necessary to identify clinical parameters for accurate prediction of return of menses as well as reliable therapeutic options.

Background. The generation and maintenance of tinnitus are assumed to be based on maladaptive functional cortical reorganization. Listening to modified music, which contains no energy in the range of the individual tinnitus frequency, can inhibit the corresponding neuronal activity in the auditory cortex. Music making has been shown to be a powerful stimulator for brain plasticity, inducing changes in multiple sensory systems. Using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and behavioral measurements we evaluated the cortical plasticity effects of two months of (a) active listening to (unisensory) versus (b) learning to play (multisensory) tailor-made notched music in nonmusician tinnitus patients. Taking into account the fact that uni- and multisensory trainings induce different patterns of cortical plasticity we hypothesized that these two protocols will have different affects. Results. Only the active listening (unisensory) group showed significant reduction of tinnitus related activity of the middle temporal cortex and an increase in the activity of a tinnitus-coping related posterior parietal area. Conclusions. These findings indicate that active listening to tailor-made notched music induces greater neuroplastic changes in the maladaptively reorganized cortical network of tinnitus patients while additional integration of other sensory modalities during training reduces these neuroplastic effects.

Objective To systematically evaluate the content and quality of national and international guidelines on vaginal mesh procedures for pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Methods We searched PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect from inception to March 2020 and organizations’ websites. The quality of the guidelines was assessed independently by six appraisers using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument. Results Five guidelines were included. Most guidelines recommended individualized treatments, clinical observation, and conservative treatment for asymptomatic women discouraging the use of mesh. Vaginal pessary and pelvic floor muscle training are unanimously considered effective treatments. Only two guidelines recommended weight loss. Each guideline recommended patient counseling supported by data on success rates and complications. Most guidelines highlighted the importance of a specialist experienced surgeon, multidisciplinary teams, and national/international registries. All guidelines highlighted potential benefits of the use of mesh and reported possible complications. The overall quality rating ranged between 4.2 and 6.3, suggestive of moderate to high quality. The highest mean score (92.5%) pertained to “Scope and Purpose” and “Clarity of Presentation”, and the lowest to “Editorial Independence” (18%). Three out of five guidelines were “strongly recommended” by the appraisers. Conclusion Although most guidelines were of moderate to high quality, methodological applicability, stakeholder involvement, and editorial independence were domains with low scores.