Alteration in serum pituitary hormone levels in postmenopausal women with stroke.

Ticlopidine, Trials, and "Torture" To the Editor: The title of the editorial by van Gijn and Algra, "Ticlopidine, Trials, and Torture," may leave the impression that real torture is a phenomenon of the distant, cruel past, and that the word "torture" can now be used to describe any misconduct towards persons or, as in this case, scientific data. Torture, however, is a sad and unacceptable reality of today in many countries. In the United Nations' convention against torture the following definition is given: "The term torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity." According to the latest Amnesty International report, government-sanctioned torture took place in 74 countries during 1993. The word "torture" should not be used as a negatively loaded metaphor in the discussion of researchers' handling of scientific data.