Mifepristone-misoprostol medical abortion promises to revolutionize reproductive health-care. Several simplifications of the standard three clinic visit regimen may be possible, however. Particularly in developing countries, access to the method can be greatly increased by eliminating the longest clinic visit. Indeed, shortly after mifepristone's introduction in Guadeloupe, a semi-developed Car...

In a prospective study the usefulness of placental grading in detecting IUGR has been evaluated. Those who were echoscopically examined within one week before delivery were taken into the study (n = 137). Changes in placental tissue increased clearly as pregnancy progressed and in 42% (57/137) the placentae reached Grade III. Increasing placental grading is associated with normal maturation of ...

OBJECTIVE To ascertain the annual incidence of diabetes requiring treatment with insulin in children and adolescents aged 0-19 years in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during a 10 year period from 1 January 1982 to 31 December 1991. DESIGN Prospective registration at a major urban hospital of all patients with newly diagnosed diabetes who were resident in Dar es Salaam. SETTING Muhimbili Medical C...

AIM The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to examine whether cognitive decline is an independent predictor of new long-term care insurance (LTCI) requirement certifications in Japan. METHODS A total of 5,765 community-dwelling older Japanese adults who, at baseline, were independent in terms of their activities of daily living participated in this study and were followed up for 18 m...

OBJECTIVE The present study investigates the relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults with or without pre-existing diseases. DESIGN A population-based cohort study. SETTING The Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging is a nationwide prospective cohort study comprising a representative random sample of middle-aged and older adults. The study period was 1...

BACKGROUND Hormone therapy has been shown to increase risk of ischemic stroke in women. Plant-derived estrogens, particularly soy isoflavones, are known to have some estrogenic effects and have been marketed as natural alternatives to hormone therapy. Concerns have been raised about whether high isoflavone exposure may be related to ischemic stroke risk as well. OBJECTIVE We examined the diet...

To determine the frequency and risk factors for female to male sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), a prospective study was carried out in 422 men who had acquired a sexually transmitted disease (STD) from a group of prostitutes with a prevalence of HIV-1 infection of 85%. The initial seroprevalence of HIV among the men was 12%. 24 of 293 (8.2%) initially seronega...

The objectives of this study are twofold: (1) to promote necessary English oral skills; and (2) to provide prospective English teachers with a necessary roadmap towards achieving competency in English oral communication skills. Prospective English teachers at 11 Japanese universities participated, and we tested our text materials in terms of the degree of motivation, and of the progress on thei...