Is excess folic acid supplementation a risk factor for autism?

Background: The objective was to assess the association between increasing autism incidence rates and the increasing dose of folic acid in prescription prenatal and pediatric vitamins.

Methods: We used published autism incidence rates from the Rochester Epidemiological Project in Rochester, MN, for 1976-1997. Additionally, we used the percent of prescription prenatal vitamins containing 1mg folic acid and the percent of prescription pediatric vitamins with any folic acid from Physicians' Desk References for roughly the same time period.

Decline of sexual function with age in Japanese men compared with American men--results of two community-based studies.

Objectives: To investigate the self-reported sexual function of Japanese men aged 40 to 79 years in a community-based study and compare the results to a similarly conducted study in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Methods: Two hundred eighty-nine Japanese and 2115 American men from the community were queried about ability to have erections when stimulated, sexual drive, and satisfaction with sexual activity using a self-administered questionnaire.

Results: Both Japanese and American men showed an age-related decline in erectile function, sexual libido, and sexual satisfaction.

The psychological impact of modeling in a cancer survivors' fashion show.

Our objective was to assess whether cancer survivors can serve as models to promote cancer prevention and screening without suffering psychological discomfort themselves. The disease coping literature suggests that if women knew more about what cancer treatment and life after surviving cancer were like, they would be more likely to accept cancer screening tests. Because cancer survivors are living examples showing that people can survive and thrive after cancer, survivors have the potential to promote cancer screening by teaching others in their community.

The Pine Ridge-Mayo National Aeronautics and Space Administration telemedicine project: program activities and participant reactions.

Objective: To determine the response of participants to the Pine Ridge-Mayo National Aeronautics and Space Administration telemedicine project.

Design: We describe a 3-month demonstration project of medical education and clinical consultations conducted by means of satellite transmission. Postparticipation questionnaires and a postproject survey were used to assess the success of the activity.