Access to emergency hormonal contraception from community pharmacies and family planning clinics

AIMS

To evaluate differences in the time taken to access progestogen-only emergency hormonal contraception (EHC) by young women from family planning (FP) or community pharmacy settings.

METHODS

An observational study of 203 women requesting EHC from FP clinics and community pharmacies in South-west Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) from December 2002 to October 2003.

RESULTS

Access to EHC from community pharmacy was significantly faster than from FP clinics (16 h vs. 41 h, P<0.001). Older teenagers tended to seek EHC more quickly and were more likely to have had a contraceptive failure rather than have used no contraception at all.

CONCLUSION

The results provide further support for pharmacist involvement in the supply of EHC.

Deficits in cerebral glucose metabolism demonstrated by positron emission tomography in individuals at risk of familial Alzheimer's disease

In order to establish whether positron emission tomography (PET) can identify metabolic changes in Alzheimer's disease at a presymptomatic stage, we have examined 24 asymptomatic at risk individuals from families with Alzheimer's disease. A significant reduction in global cerebral metabolic rate for glucose was found when compared with 16 age-matched controls. There was also a focal, parieto-temporal deficit similar to, although less extensive than, that found in 18 symptomatic individuals from familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) pedigrees. Follow up of this cohort will establish whether these metabolic changes relate to a presymptomatic stage of the disease.