BackgroundRecruitment of young people for health research by traditional methods has become more expensive and challenging over recent decades. The Internet presents an opportunity for innovative recruitment modalities.ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of recruiting young females using targeted advertising on the social networking site Facebook.MethodsWe placed an advertisement on Facebook from May to September 2010, inviting 16- to 25-year-old females from Victoria, Australia, to participate in a health study. Those who clicked on the advertisement were redirected to the study website and were able to express interest by submitting their contact details online. They were contacted by a researcher who assessed eligibility and invited them to complete a health-related survey, which they could do confidentially and securely either at the study site or remotely online.ResultsA total of 551 females responded to the advertisement, of whom 426 agreed to participate, with 278 completing the survey (139 at the study site and 139 remotely). Respondents’ age distribution was representative of the target population, while 18- to 25-year-olds were more likely to be enrolled in the study and complete the survey than 16- to 17-year-olds (prevalence ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.05–1.78, P = .02). The broad geographic distribution (major city, inner regional, and outer regional/remote) and socioeconomic profile of participants matched the target population. Predictors of participation were older age, higher education level, and higher body mass index. Average cost in advertising fees per compliant participant was US $20, making this highly cost effective.ConclusionsResults demonstrate the potential of using modern information and communication technologies to engage young women in health research and penetrate into nonurban communities. The success of this method has implications for future medical and population research in this and other demographics.

The causes and geographic distribution of 267 cases of iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) are here updated at the millennium. Small numbers of still-occurring cases result from disease onsets after longer and longer incubation periods following infection by cadaveric human growth hormone or dura mater grafts manufactured and distributed before the mid-1980s. The proportion of recipients acquiring CJD from growth hormone varies from 0.3 to 4.4% in different countries, and acquisition from dura mater varies between 0.02 and 0.05% in Japan (where most cases occurred). Incubation periods can extend up to 30 years, and cerebellar onsets predominate in both hormone and graft recipients (in whom the site of graft placement had no effect on the clinical presentation). Homozygosity at codon 129 of the PRNP gene is over-represented in both forms of disease; it has no effect on the incubation period of graft recipients, but may promote shorter incubation periods in hormone cases. Knowledge about potential high-risk sources of contamination gained during the last quarter century, and the implementation of methods to circumvent them, should minimize the potential for iatrogenic contributions to the current spectrum of CJD.

Incorporation of CSF 14-3-3 analysis in the diagnostic criteria for CJD significantly increases the sensitivity of case definition. Amended diagnostic criteria for CJD are proposed.