JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Two studies have suggested that the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women using oral contraceptives is less than half that of nonusers. When a third study from the Mayo Clinic failed to confirm these findings, it was criticized for inclusion of ineligible subjects, misclassification of oral contraceptive use, and inadequate statistical power. Recent expansion of the Mayo Clinic's data resources provided a unique opportunity to resolve the controversy, and a new population-based case-control study was undertaken. ⋯ Comparing any prior use of oral contraceptives with never having used them, the relative risk of rheumatoid arthritis estimated from 182 cases and their 182 matched controls was 1.1 (95% confidence interval 0.7 to 1.7). The relative risk for current use was 1.3 (95% confidence interval, 0.7 to 2.4). The lack of a protective effect was independent of age, disease severity, and disease end point (date of confirmed diagnosis or symptom onset).
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This article examines the nature of the controversy between animal activists and the scientific community over the need for and desirability of additional regulation of animal experimentation. We critically review the existing federal and state regulatory environment and discuss a number of proposals for new federal legislation for regulating the use of animals in scientific experimentation. We identify and discuss three factors that encompass the issues that are at the core of the controversy and use these to suggest a conceptual framework in which to analyze schemes for regulating animal experimentation. Finally, we discuss the implications that such regulation will have for animal experimentation and conclude that it is neither necessary nor desirable.
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Practice Guideline Guideline
Consensus Conference. Limb-sparing treatment of adult soft-tissue sarcomas and osteosarcomas.