Cochrane Stroke is one of the oldest Cochrane groups and has produced nearly 200 reviews of various interventions for stroke and other types of brain injury. An update to one of these, in January 2017, examines the evidence on music interventions and lead author Wendy Magee from the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia, USA,  tells us more in this podcast.

Venous thromboembolism is a common and potentially life-threatening condition in which a clot forms in the veins of the leg or pelvis or moves up to the lungs where it blocks a blood vessel. Heparin is one of the treatments and an updated Cochrane Review from February 2017 examines the evidence of its effects. Lindsay Robertson from the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK tells us about these latest findings.

Most Cochrane Reviews focus primarily on the intended effects of interventions, but some are designed to investigate the potential harms. One such review was published in November 2016 to examine the effects of anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy. The lead author, Rebecca Bromley from the Institute of Human Development at the University of Manchester in the UK tells us more in this podcast.

Root canal treatment is a common procedure in dentistry, and requires one or more visits to the dentist. In an updated review in December 2016, the Cochrane authors have brought together the trials that compared different numbers of visits and we asked the lead author, Maddalena Manfredi from the University of Parma in Italy to tell us what they found.

The single most common, preventable cause of in-hospital death is a hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism; making thi an important target for prevention when people are admitted to hospital. An updated Cochrane Review from September 2016 looks at the evidence for one of the possible interventions, a combination of intermittent pneumatic leg compression and drugs to prevent blood clots. Hayley Hassan, on behalf of the authors, tells us more.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition, associated with mutation of a specific gene involved in the movement of salt across cells. One of the proposed treatments that targets a particular type of this mutation is a drug called Ataluren, which was the subject of a new Cochrane Review in January 2017. One of the authors, Kevin Southern from the Department of Women's and Children's Health at the University of Liverpool in the UK, describes the available evidence in this podcast.

As the problem of dementia grows, so does the need to diagnose it early. Cochrane Reviews have examined various tests for doing so and a new Cochrane Review in November 2016 looks at one, called IQCODE. We asked lead author, Terry Quinn from the University of Glasgow in the UK to tell us more.

Liver transplantation is the main treatment option for people with severe, advanced liver disease, but it’s a challenging procedure that can lead to serious complications. The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group has produced several reviews to look at the evidence to help overcome these, and a new review from March 2017 examines immunosuppressive therapy to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted liver. We asked the lead author, Kurinchi Gurusamy from the UCL Medical School in London in the UK to tell us what they found.

Most Cochrane Reviews examine quantitative evidence on the effects of health or social care, but some review qualitative research to try to get a better understanding of and why and how interventions do or don’t work. In a new review from February 2017, Heather Ames, from the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues have done this to explore how parents experience communication about vaccination for children. She tells us what they found in this podcast.

In their first year of life, babies are likely to receive many vaccinations, which are vital for public health. However, the experience can be painful and distressing for the babies and their parents. In a new Cochrane Review from October 2016, Denise Harrison from the University of Ottawa in Canada and colleagues examined the research into whether breastfeeding might reduce this pain. She tells us what they found in this podcast.