Background : Regular contraceptive use and emergency contraception are tools to prevent pregnancies. Aims: This study was designed to investigate knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and awareness of emergency contraception among women working in the hospital. Settings: Educated workingwomen in a medical college hospital. Design: Cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out among women belonging to three categories: staff nurses, ministerial staff and others. Married as well as unmarried employees in the reproductive age group were interviewed. A pretested mixed questionnaire containing open as well as closed ended questions was administered. The women were asked questions concerning knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and awareness of emergency or postcoital contraception. Results: Of the 284 employees 258 women consented for the interview. All the subjects were literate and majority (97.2%) had an urban background. Of the 190 married women, 154 (81.1%) practiced contraception, among them (73.3%) were regular users. Eighty respondents underwent abortions of which 46 had spontaneous and 34 had induced abortions. Among the available contraceptive methods, condom was the most popular method in 89 (57.8%) followed by Copper T in 38 women (24.7%). The use of hormonal contraception was very low 2.6%. Print and electronic media were the common source of public awareness in 149 subjects (57.7%). Twenty-nine women (11.2%) were aware and only three women used emergency contraception. Conclusions: A high percentage of females in this literate workingwomen population used contraception; however, the awareness of emergency contraception was low.

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Context: An ethnobotanical study was carried out among the Jah Hut people who live in the central part of peninsular Malaysia. Materials and Methods: The information on the medicinal plants was obtained from interview with a traditional medicinal man. The traditional uses and remedies were documented. The literature searches were carried out for the evaluation on the current status of investigations on these plants. Results: In this study, we present 16 species of plants, which are commonly used among the Jah Hut people to cure some common diseases. Discussions: This study is important to preserve the knowledge of medicinal plants used by Jah Hut people. The surveys of phytopharmacological literatures of these plants have great pharmacological and ethnobotanical significance.

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Bisphosphonate group of agents are known for their anti-bone resorptive properties. However, recently their anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis properties have come to light. Clinical trials of their use in spondyloarthropathy are showing promising results, especially in patients with shorter disease duration. The adverse event profile is mainly limited to postinfusion arthralgia, myalgia and fever. The concept of pamidronate in spondyloarthropathy management should be evaluated further in light of these clinical studies and could have a major impact on our resource-restricted setting.

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Background: Detection of the (CGG)n repeats in the FMR1 gene that cause the fragile X syndrome (FXS), has become a milestone for phenotype-genotype correlation in FXS. Aims: To screen the FMR1 gene CGG repeats in index cases with FXS and their family members in the Antalya Province. Setting and design: This study was prospectively conducted between January 200and March 2005 in Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya. Materials and Methods: A series of 132 cases from three hospitals in Antalya Province were studied. All cases were molecularly screened using non-radioactive Expand Long PCR method that was confirmed by Southern blotting. Results: Seventeen out of 132 cases were found to have a full mutation, including three that were mosaic for premutations/full mutations. Of the 132 cases, eight were found to have the premutation size of the CGG repeats. The remaining 107 cases were identified as normal. Conclusions: Due to premature ovarian failure and Fragile X premutation Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome related with the premutation, the detection of the premutation will provide valuable information both for clinical follow-up and genetic counseling. In conclusion, our data suggest that expansion of CGG repeats in the FMR1 gene can be analyzed by Expand Long PCR, an efficient and non-radioactive method that can be used to monitor the expansion of premutation to full mutation, which would eventually lead to reduce the FXS prevalence.

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