ABSTRACT
<b>Objective: </b>Adequate periconceptional folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects in infants. The present study aimed to investigate the awareness of pharmacy students regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects.<br><b>Design: </b>Questionnaire survey.<br><b>Methods: </b>A self-administered questionnaire regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects was distributed to 750 pharmacy students at Tohoku and Ohu Universities.<br><b>Results: </b>Among the 685 respondents (response rate; 91.3%), 74 (10.8%) were aware that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake was evident among 5th- and 6th-year pharmacy students (odds ratio=3.352, 95% confidence interval=1.797-6.253) and among those who used dietary supplements (2.275, 1.306-3.966). Among the 74 pharmacy students who recognized the importance of folic acid intake, 17 (23.0%) and 3 (4.1%) were aware that women should begin taking a folic acid supplement before conception and should take about 400 μg per day during pregnancy, respectively.<br><b>Conclusion: </b>Only about 10% of the pharmacy students in this study recognized that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects, and many were unaware of the recommended intake amount. Therefore, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake must be more aggressively promoted among pharmacy students.
ABSTRACT
A 25-year-old man was admitted with high fever and heart murmur. Echocardiogram showed left ventricular chamber dilatation and vegetations attached to the aortic valve. Blood cultures obtained on admission revealed <i>Streptococcus viridans</i>. Despite adequate antibiotic therapy, congestive heart failure progressively worsened and large splenic abscesses were detected by computed tomography. Urgent aortic valve replacement and splenectomy were performed. The aortic valve was bicuspid and markedly destroyed. Pathology of the spleen showed findings consistent with large infarct and abscesses due to septic emboli. The postoperative course was uneventful.
ABSTRACT
A survey has been under way on the incidence of cerebral apoplexy among the inhabitants (pop. 105, 185, National Census, 1970) of the Saku district of Nagano Prefecture since April 1972.<BR>This survey, which constitutes a WHO cooperative study, has been under way with cooperation rendered by the local Medical Association, Association of Public Health Nurses in Saku District and Saku Public Health Center with the Saku Central Hospital acting as the survey center.<BR>In the period of two years till March 1974, 585 persons were registered as having been seized with cerebral apoplexy. The annual incidence rate stood at 265 per 100, 000 population. Classified by types of cerebral apoplexy, cerebral hemorrhage accounted for 26%, cerebral thrombosis for 57%, cerebral embolism for 3%, subarachnoid hemorrhage for 9%, and other types for 5%.<BR>By sexes, the incidence rate among males was 1.3 times higher than among females. By ages, the incidence was highest in the seventies.<BR>When the prognosis of cerebral apoplexy is viewed in terms of deaths in the early period of less than three weeks after the onset, the mortality rate stood at 45%.<BR>The hospitalization rate of patients seized with cerebral apoplexy was 55%. There was a significant difference in the mortality rate between inpatients (with 28%) and outpatients (65%).<BR>The ratio of concurrence of autopsy and clinical diagnosis stood at 83% with Okinaka's criteria and 79% with Ikeda's CVD index.<BR>The incidence of hypertension before the onset of cerebral apoplexy was extremely high among the patients seized with cerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction.With respect to the treatment of hypertension, the discontinuance of treatment and the failure to undergo it are high in percentage among the patients seized with cerebral hemorrhage. With reference to cerebral infarction patients of 70 years and older in age, there is little defference between the group who discontinued or failed to undergo treatment and the group who underwent it.<BR>The recurrence of cerebral apoplexy stood at 11% for cerebral hemorrhage, 19% for cerebral infarction, and 11% for subarachnoid hemorrhage.