Previous studies in animals and humans show that genes in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) influence individual odours and that females often prefer odour of MHC-dissimilar males, perhaps to increase offspring heterozygosity or reduce inbreeding. Women using oral hormonal contraceptives have been reported to have the opposite preference, raising the possibility that oral contraceptive...

Relevance to family physicians Informed consumers are a good thing, but one of the side eff ects of being informed is their increased desire for testing. Patients have, I would say, an incredible faith in diagnostic testing, especially tests that involve high technology. Test results are often viewed by the public as black and white. Those of us who have dabbled in the science of diagnosis have...

CONTEXT In Africa, many new family planning clients are not menstruating at the time they present for services. Where pregnancy tests are unavailable, clients are often denied their method of choice and sent home to await menses. For pill clients, one obvious solution is 'advance provision' of oral contraceptives for later use. However, this practice is rare in Africa. OBJECTIVE To assess the...

Ischemic colitis is generally considered a disease of the elderly. The causes of ischemic colitis include low-flow states due to cardiac dysfunction or hypovolemia and certain medications including estrogen. Here we report a case of ischemic colitis in a 26-year-old woman. She had no specific medical history except taking oral-contraceptives for a long time. The mechanism of estrogen-induced is...

This selective review of stroke in children and young adults addresses: (1) stroke in sickle cell disease, particularly the prognostic use of transcranial Doppler, (2) oral contraceptives as a stroke risk factor, (3) stroke in pregnancy, and (4) the prognosis of ischemic stroke in young adults. Factors relevant to the primary prevention and outcome of stroke are emphasized.

CONTEXT Contraceptive prevalence is very low in Senegal, particularly among young women. Greater knowledge is needed about the barriers young women face to using contraceptives, including barriers imposed by health providers. METHODS Survey data collected in 2011 for the evaluation of the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative in Senegal were used to examine contraceptive use, method mix, unmet...

BACKGROUND The men's attitudes towards family planning and on the use of family planning method may affect not only their wives intention to use contraception but also the choice of a particular family planning method. This focus of this study is to assess the educated men's role, belief, practice and their participation in family planning. METHODS A cross-sectional data on 150 university mal...

We estimated cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) activities in erthrocytes and plasma of 443 men, 188 women not taking oral contraceptives, and 70 women who were taking oral contraceptives. Men in the first six decades of life had higher plasma cholinesterase activity than did women who were not taking oral contraceptives, and these women had higher plasma cholinesterase activity than women taking oral...

Oral contraceptives (OC) are, or perhaps more correctly, were, until recently, being taken by approximately 6.5 million women worldwide, which corresponds to approximately 6% of all women of reproductive age. OCs have been available since the early 1960s and there is substantial evidence to suggest that no single medication has had such a profound impact on our reproduction and social life as t...

BACKGROUND Oral contraceptive pills effectiveness is lower in actual use than in clinical trials. The views of a group of married Iranian women were sought as a step toward improving the enhanced use of contraceptive pills. METHODS Two focus groups of current pill users (n=13) and two focus groups of women not currently taking the pills (n=14) were held. Leaders trained facilitators; themes w...