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Background: Many faculties of medicine now include programmes using early clinical exposure (ECE) to introduce medical students to important topics in medicine., Objective: To sketch the landscape of ECE in Europe, describing existing courses., Methods: A survey questionnaire was developed by the Basic Medical Education Committee of the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT). This survey used the key informant interviews method, with EURACT Council members serving as key informants by filling in the questionnaire and gathering descriptive data on ECE programmes in their own countries., Results: We asked representatives of 32 EURACT member countries to complete the questionnaire in 2006. We received responses from 21 countries, and the programmes of 40 medical schools from 16 countries were included in the study. Thirty-two medical schools implemented ECE starting in the first year. The duration of ECE programmes ranged from 2 weeks to 2 years. The length of each session varied from 2 hours to a full day. Primary care played an important role in ECE. ECE programmes were implemented with a wide range of objectives., Conclusion: ECE is a new and rewarding trend in European medical schools, and general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) departments are widely involved in these teaching activities. This could help establish GP/FM departments in some countries that still do not have them in their medical schools.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of oral continuous 17beta-estradiol plus norethisterone acetate (E2/NETA) replacement therapy on abdominal subcutaneous fat, serum leptin level (SLL) and body composition in postmenopausal women., Materials and Methods: A 6-month, prospective, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study was conducted. Forty-three healthy naturally postmenopausal women aged 43-65 years were randomly assigned to receive E2/NETA (2 mg E2 plus 1 mg NETA, n = 22) or placebo (n = 21). Fasting SLL by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, subcutaneous abdominal fat thickness (STh) by ultrasound and the anthropometric indices of body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference (WC, HC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were recorded at the beginning and the end of the study., Results: After 6 months of therapy, BW and SLL increased in the placebo group (p = 0.043 and 0.033, respectively). WC, HC and STh decreased significantly in the E2/NETA group (p = 0.002, 0.006 and 0.000, respectively) and they were also significantly lower in women receiving E2/NETA than in women taking placebo (p = 0.000, 0.034 and 0.000, respectively). At baseline, SLL and STh were positively correlated with all anthropometric indices except WHR., Conclusion: Oral continuous combined regimen of E2/NETA significantly reduced central fat accumulation as assessed by WC and STh, and attenuated the increase in SLL. The observed changes in SLL were highly and positively related to changes in STh. The oral continuous combined E2/NETA regimen appears to have protective effects on cardiovascular function and probably on metabolic diseases by its slimming effect upon WC in postmenopausal women.