Cranioplasty is the surgical intervention to repair cranial defects. The aim of cranioplasty is not only a cosmetic issue; also, the repair of cranial defects gives relief to psychological drawbacks and increases the social performances. Many different types of materials were used throughout the history of cranioplasty. With the evolving biomedical technology, new materials are available to be used by the surgeons. Although many different materials and techniques had been described, there is still no consensus about the best material, and ongoing researches on both biologic and nonbiologic substitutions continue aiming to develop the ideal reconstruction materials. In this article, the principle materials and techniques of cranioplasty are reviewed.

Objective: This study aims to examine knowledge and attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among medical students in Turkey, and find out whether they want to be trained in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between October and December 2010 among medical students. Data were collected from a total of seven medical schools. Findings: The study included 943 medical students. The most well known methods among the students were herbal treatment (81.2%), acupuncture (80.8%), hypnosis (78.8%), body-based practices including massage (77%) and meditation (65.2%), respectively. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal treatment and meditation were better known among female participants compared to males (p < 0.05). Females and first year students, generally had more positive attitudes. A larger proportion of female students compared to male students reported that a doctor should be knowledgeable about CAM (p = 0.001), and this knowledge would be helpful in their future professional lives (p = 0.015). Positive attitudes towards and willingness to receive training declined as the number of years spent in the faculty of medicine increased.Conclusions: Majority of the medical students were familiar with the CAM methods widely used in Turkey, while most of them had positive attitudes towards CAM as well as willingness to receive training on the subject, and they were likely to recommend CAM methods to their patients in their future professional lives. With its gradual scientific development and increasing popularity, there appears a need for a coordinated policy in integrating CAM into the medical curriculum, by taking expectations of and feedback from medical students into consideration in setting educational standards.

Suicide is a significant problem in the world. Sharing the information about the national suicide rates in the international scientific area is an important issue for not only the solution of the problem, but also improving the efforts for decreasing the suicidal deaths. We aimed to add the statistical information about the rates, the risk factors, and the methods of suicides in Turkey to the literature. The suicide rates in Turkey increased in the period between 1996 and 2005 years; it was 3.8 per 100,000 populations in 2005. The average ratio of male to female was 1.58/1 between 1996 and 2005 years. The suicidal deaths increased above the age of 75, especially in male population. In females, the most dangerous period was 15 to 24 age group. The major risk factor for suicides was found to be illness (29.6%) for both genders and especially for above middle ages. Hanging was the most preferred method for both genders and for most of the age groups in Turkey. Suicides increased in the spring and summer.

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OP was determined in 1/3 of the women. Advanced age (> 65) and being illiterate were negative factors, while high education levels, being overweight, and being treated with HT had a positive effects on BMD. Habitual tea drinking also may have a positive effect on BMD. However, tea drinking was not found to be a statistically significant factor in the present study.

SUMMARYIn addition to the clinical outcome, a patient's perspective and satisfaction with their health status have become important indicators. One of the most common measures to assess the quality of life is Short Form (SF)-36. The objective of the present study was to measure the functional status of elderly patients who had undergone coronary bypass surgery and to evaluate the impact of that surgery on their quality of life.The study involved 120 nonsmoking patients who underwent coronary bypass surgery between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2003 at the Sevket Demirel Heart Center. Assessments were made using physical, clinical, and laboratory findings. We used the Turkish version of the Short Form (SF)-36 preoperatively and 18 months after surgery. The paired t test, two-tailed correlation, and variant analysis were used for statistical analysis.Of the 120 patients, 108 could be followed during the study period. Significant physical and mental improvements were seen in all areas, especially in the items of vitality and mental health. Females seemed to benefit from surgery more than males.Cardiac surgery substantially improved the quality of life of our patients. The findings allowed us to determine the patient's perspective of his or her outcome. With this knowledge, health care workers can provide information to the patient regarding functional limitations after cardiac surgery. (Int Heart J 2006; 47: 59-65) Key words: Quality of life, SF-36, Coronary bypass surgery, Outcome measurement ALTHOUGH the most important indicator of health status is the clinical outcome, today health-related quality of life and the patient's perspective and satisfaction are major indicators of their medical outcome. Although clinical evaluation is a standard indicator of how a patient copes with his or her disease, other factors can also influence the clinical outcome. These factors are how a patient feels about himself or herself, how a patient perceives himself or herself, and the stages of returning to his or her routine life. We need to know how these factors affect the lives of our patients. Each patient can be affected by a situation From the