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PAPERS: George H Swingler, Jimmy Volmink, and John P A Ioannidis Number of published systematic reviews and global burden of disease: database analysis BMJ 2003; 327: 1083-1084 [Full text]

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DARE is available free of charge via the internet

Paul M Wilson, Alison Booth, Julie M Glanville, Amanda J Sowden   (11 November 2003)

What about stroke?

Peter Sandercock   (29 December 2003)

DARE is available free of charge via the internet 11 November 2003
Paul M Wilson, Research Fellow Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, Alison Booth, Julie M Glanville, Amanda J Sowden Send response to journal: Re: DARE is available free of charge via the internet	We read Swingler and colleagues paper (1) with interest but would like to point out that the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, is also an electronic database. The database is unique in that it contains abstracts of systematic reviews that have been quality-assessed. Each abstract includes a summary of the review together with a short critical commentary about the overall quality. DARE aims for a broad coverage of health care related topics and includes reviews in fields as diverse as public health, health promotion, pharmacology, surgery, psychology and the organisation and delivery of healthcare. The database is updated monthly and is publicly available and free of charge via the internet at: www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd (1) Swingler GH, Volmink J, Ioannidis JPA. Number of published systematic reviews and global burden of disease: database analysis. BMJ 2003;327:1083-1084. Competing interests: DARE is produced and maintained by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.
What about stroke? 29 December 2003
Peter Sandercock, Co-ordinating editor Cochrane Stroke Group Western general Hospital Edinburgh EH4 2XU Send response to journal: Re: What about stroke?	The article highlights the large 'research gap' for common diseases, especially the diseases affecting the developing world. The global burden of disease attributed to stroke and cerebrovascular diseases is large, and set to increase as more countries make the economic transition towards becoming 'established market economies'. It would therefore have been helpful - had space allowed - if the number of systematic reviews relevant to stroke and heart disease had been reported separately (and not lumped together under 'cardiovascular disease'); are these data available? Competing interests: Yes! I'm co-ordinating editor of the cochrane stroke group