Background: To investigate the effect of using intrauterine devices (IUDs) during the fertile window on women's reproductive system health. Materials and Methods: 2,744 postmenopausal women in the Minhang District, Shanghai, China were enrolled. In the IUDs group there were 2,253 women; in the tubal ligation group there were 202 women and there were 289 women in the control group. We selected subjects according to the cases number in different hospital by using step sampling, and, in addition, collected the sociological data and information of the previously used contraceptives by the subjects, which included whether the contraceptives were used appropriately and the effect they had. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Levene's test, and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The prevalence rate of benign reproductive system conditions was significantly different among them (P < 0.05). Further comparison revealed, the rate in Group 1 was significantly lower than that in Group 2 and Group 3 (P < 0.05, respectively). Results of logistic regression analysis show that the risk factors for development of such conditions lie in the women's pregnancy history [odds ratio (OR) = 3.85], reproductive history (OR = 0.5), the use of IUD in fertile window (OR = 0.4), tubal ligation (OR = 1.74), birth control time (OR = 0.9), contraceptive failure history (OR = 1.7), and history of family planning procedures (OR = 1.73). Conclusion: IUDs, maybe, can effectively reduce the risk of getting benign reproductive conditions in postmenopausal females.

Background: Cerebral vascular thrombosis (CVT) is the thrombosis of intracranial and sinuses. The aim of this is to estimate of risk of low folic acid, low vitamin B12, and hyperhomocysteinemia (hyper-Hcys) for CVT. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 patients with CVT and 36 healthy controls participated in a cross-sectional case-control study. The deficient levels of folic acid and vitamin B12 defined as <10 ^th percentile of folic acid and vitamin B12 level and hyper-Hcys was defined as >90 ^th percentile of homocysteine of control group. Results: Patients had higher levels of total homocysteine (tHcys) than controls (14.7 ± 6.5 vs. 6.4 ± 2.7 μmol/L, P = 0.001). Also, vitamin B12 level in case group was lower compared to control subjects (185.4 ± 58 vs. 299 ± 75 ng/mL, P = 0.001). Hyper-Hcys and low vitamin B12 were significantly more prevalent in CVT patients than controls. Although, significant independent association with risk of CVT was found for hyper-Hcys [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 14.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.6-77.1, P = 0.002] and low vitamin B12 (adjusted OR 24.6, 95% CI: 2.3-262.9, P = 0.008). Association between low folic acid and risk of CVT was not significant. A significant negative correlation was found between the levels of tHcys and vitamin B12 (r = −0.32, P = 0.01). Conclusion: Hyper-Hcys and low vitamin B12 were related with the high risk for CVT.

Background: A dramatic improvement in the survival of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients in the last three decades has been observed. MCP 841 protocol is an old but effective tool with tolerable toxicities. The objective of this study was to estimate the relapse-free survival of ALL patients treated uniformly with MCP 841 protocol on the basis of various prognostic factors. Materials and Methods: The study design was retrospective and it was conducted in a regional cancer center of Northwest India. Three hundred and ten ALL patients who underwent treatment with MCP 841 protocol and regular follow-up for up to 5 years were selected for this study. Relapse-free survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis was used to calculate the hazards ratio (HR) using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for windows version 20.0. Results: Fifty-four percent patients were <15 years of age and 69% were males. 53.2% patients were in remission at the end of 5 years of starting the treatment. Relapse-free survival at 5 years by Kaplan-Meir analysis for B-cell ALL was 62% [HR 0.67 {95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47-0.95}] with patients with unknown lineage taken as reference] while for T cell it was 28% [HR 1.41 (95% CI 1.19-1.63), P 0.001]. Patients with total leukocyte count (TLC) <1 lakh/cmm at presentation, relapse-free survival was 68% and those with TLC >1 lakh/cmm had 41% survival [HR 2.14 (1.76-2.48) with, P < 0.001]. Conclusion: MCP 841 protocol is a useful tool for the treatment of ALL in children when more aggressive protocols can not be used.

Background: The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), as a way to assess the dietary intake in comparison with other methods, is easier to analyze and takes less time and is less costly. Our aim in this study was to develop and validate an FFQ for estimating the intakes of selected antioxidants in elderly Iranian people. Materials and Methods: A total of 185 elderly people were randomly selected. Three-day food records were completed by the subjects and collected every 2 months and dietary intake levels of zinc, selenium, carotenes and vitamins C and E were estimated. Based on the food records data, geographic location, and age, an FFQ was designed to estimate antioxidant intakes during 1 year. In addition, for controlling energy intake, 2-day food records were also collected with the food frequency questionnaire. To assess the reliability, 40 individuals were asked to complete the FFQ twice with an interval of 3 months in between. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the two FFQs ​​for antioxidant C, antioxidant E, carotene, selenium, and zinc were 0.62, 0.47, 0.51, 0.54, and 0.58, respectively (P < 0.05). In addition, Pearson correlation coefficients between the FFQ and the food records, after controlling energy for vitamin C, vitamin E, carotene, selenium, and zinc, were 0.46, 0.48, 0.38, 0.55, and 0.47 respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, considering the fact that the FFQ was designed for the elderly and the special conditions (patience, memory, etc.) and vulnerability of this age group, the questionnaire is relatively valid and reliable to use.