Population smoking prevalence is an important indicator of population health. Monitoring trends in tobacco use over time is essential in evaluating the impact of tobacco control strategies, such as mass media campaigns, tobacco tax increases, graphic health warnings and mandatory plain packaging of cigarettes. Geographic and demographic differences in tobacco consumption trends can also provide...

Several researchers have looked for an association between fragile X (FRAXA) syndrome and dizygotic (DZ) twinning. Fryns [1986] reported a 4-fold increase in twinning in a study of 134 obligate FRAXA carriers, while Turner et al. [1994] noted a twinning rate of one in 11 in 253 carriers of the FRAXA premutation. On the other hand, Sherman et al. [1988] found no excess of twins in fragile X pedi...

Obesity has been associated with lower levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, abbreviated 25(OH)D, in several studies, including the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Body fat has been shown to be a storage site for vitamin D in humans, but the exact mechanism by which higher body fat results in lower serum 25(OH)D is not known for certain. Hypotheses include se...

The congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a rapidly expanding disease group with protean presentations in which the skeletal manifestations are often not appreciated. In this brief review we will discuss the skeletal manifestation of CDG patients, their potential clinical and functional impact on the CDG child and their family, and consider possible underlying mechanisms of these skel...

The sources of covariation among cognitive measures of Inspection Time, Choice Reaction Time, Delayed Response Speed and Accuracy, and IQ were examined in a classical twin design that included 245 monozygotic (MZ) and 298 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. Results indicated that a factor model comprising additive genetic and unique environmental effects was the most parsimonious. In this model, a gener...

The Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous family of inherited diseases. Their clinical manifestations are truly multi-system. While the ophthalmological manifestations of CDG are not life threatening, they carry the potential for significant disease burden for the child and their family. In this brief review we highlight the ophthalmological ...

Norwegian patients in methadone assisted treatment programs (MATP) are allowed to drive after at least 6 months on an unchanged daily dose. The number of patients in MATP has increased more than ten fold since 1997. By using the nationwide database of the National Institute of Forensic Toxicology on blood concentrations measured in suspected drugged drivers during 1997-2001, all methadone posit...

The expression of several key enzymes and receptors of rat hepatic cholesterol metabolism was studied during development. Among major findings were: acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase, the cholesteryl ester hydrolases, cholesterol7a-hydroxylase and the a2-macroglobulin receptor (LRP) were very low in fetal livers, but all were induced shortly before birth, suggesting that these element...

Multiple myeloma, characterised in most instances by the excess production of monoclonal paraprotein or free light chains, has been traditionally monitored by serum (SPEP) and urine (UPEP) protein electrophoresis, respectively. Approximately 15% of patients with myeloma are light chain myeloma and <5% are non-secretory by these techniques. In fact, with the advent of the serum free light chain ...

So what is to be done about eugenics? It is now almost universally reckoned to be a Bad Idea, as Elof Carlson’s title makes plain. A book, a chapter, or even a seminar tut-tutting about all those famous supporters of eugenics who should have known better — from Beatrice Webb, H. G. Wells and Oliver Wendell Holmes to Julian Huxley, Peter Medawar and Francis Crick — is a sure step to success in t...