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Universities and colleges need to do more to protect young adults from the dangers of illicit stimulant use and to educate them about harms, argue the authors of an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/site/embargo/cmaj111149.pdf.

Students use stimulants to keep them alert to enhance their academic performance, although the perceived benefits are questionable.

ORLANDO, Fla., September 6, 2011 – All cells need glucose (sugar) to produce the energy they need to survive. High glucose levels in the bloodstream (such as occur after a meal), trigger the pancreas to produce insulin. In turn, muscle and fat cells respond to insulin by moving GLUT4, a glucose transporter, from intracellular storage out to the cell surface. There, GLUT4 can take up the glucose the cell needs from the bloodstream. Now, a new study led by Zhen Y. Jiang, Ph.D.

In Leigh syndrome, infants are born apparently healthy only to develop movement and breathing disorders that worsen over time, often leading to death by the age of 3. The problem is that the mitochondria responsible for powering their cells can't keep up with the demand for energy in their developing brains.

MAYWOOD, Il. -- Nearly half of recreational runners may be drinking too much fluid during races, according to a survey of runners by Loyola University Health System researchers.

Expert guidelines recommend runners drink only when thirsty. But the Loyola survey found that 36.5 percent of runners drink according to a preset schedule or to maintain a certain body weight and 8.9 percent drink as much as possible.

An experimental vaccine composed of a genetically modified bacterium closely related to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) has been found to protect mice against TB infection, according to a study appearing online September 4 in the journal Nature Medicine. The research was funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health.

Doctors have been prescribing codeine for postpartum pain management for many years, and, until recently, it was considered safe to breastfeed while taking the opioid. But the death of an infant exposed to codeine through breast milk has many health care providers questioning the safety of the drug when used by breastfeeding mothers.

Biologists at the University of Florida have found a reason why men’s ring fingers are generally longer than their index fingers — and why the reverse usually holds true for women.

The finding could help medical professionals understand the origin of behavior and disease, which may be useful for customizing treatments or assessing risks in context with specific medical conditions.

Across the western Cape of South Africa can be found small plants in the Iris family called Babiana. Flitting between them are sunbirds, small colourful birds like the African version of hummingbirds, that drink the nectar of flowers and in doing so pollinate them.

The majority of people who undergo bariatric weight-loss surgery benefit from the procedure, but long-term complications and further surgery are not uncommon, according to a UK paper on late postoperative complications in the October issue of BJS, the British Journal of Surgery.

Going back to work after the holidays is a nightmare for many. Can you improve your health by remembering the past in a positive way? A study by the University of Granada (UGR) reports that people's attitude to past events, present experiences or future expectations, influences their perception of health and their quality of life.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Obesity is a known risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. But it hasn't been clear whether the "dose" of obesity—how much excess weight a person has, and for how long—affects the risk of diabetes.

A new University of Michigan Health System study of about 8,000 adolescents and young adults shows the degree and duration of carrying extra pounds are important risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 6, 2011) -- Richard Casaburi, Ph.D., M.D., principal investigator at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed), is co-author of a recent study that should help improve the condition for the millions of individuals who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD. The results of the study reveal that adding a common antibiotic - azithromycin – to the usual daily treatment for COPD reduced the occurrence of acute exacerbations by 27% and tended to improve the quality of life for COPD patients.

In a first-ever comprehensive study of the species origins of nature-derived drugs, it is shown that drug-producing species are concentrated and clustered in a limited number of families, refuting the conventional view that as every nature species produces biologically active molecules, one can find drugs from almost any major block of species groups if one looks for them hard enough.

KINGSTON, ON. Queen's University medical researchers today released some key findings from the first study of its kind done in Canada on the impact of colds and flu on school absenteeism, the workplace, and the economy.

The researchers reviewed more than 80 published clinical trials, studies and research projects representing the work of over 300 researchers from more than 100 universities and institutions.

In their report entitled "Why the Common Cold and Flu Matter", the researchers found:

Pediatric obesity ends up costing $3 billion annually in the U.S., but a significant amount of that could be saved by streamlining medical coverage to address health issues affecting young obese patients now rather than waiting to treat conditions they develop as they get older, according UCLA researchers and colleagues.