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Colleges, Communities Combat Off-Campus Student Drinking
Programs that bring colleges and their surrounding neighborhoods together may help reduce off-campus drinking problems, a new study suggests.

Lack Of Access To Contraception Persists In Nigeria, Study Finds
Nearly one-third of sexually active women ages 15 to 24 in Nigeria had an unmet need for modern contraception in 2003, according to a study from the Guttmacher Institute, BBC News reports. The study, which analyzed health data from Nigerian authorities and non-governmental organizations, found that 16% of pregnancies among women ages 15 to 24 in 2003 were unintended, compared with 10% in 1990. From 1990 to 2003, there was little change -- from 4% to 8% -- in use of modern contraceptives among young women who were sexually active. In addition, the proportion of sexually active young women who were aware of how to access family planning services decreased from 32% in 1990 to 18% in 2003, the study found. The study also said that although the proportion of girls and young women with some secondary education increased from 34% in 1990 to 50% in 2003, Nigerian authorities have inadequately promoted sexual health information, including contraceptive information, to the country"s youth. The report noted that Nigeria"s population is increasing by 2.2% annually and will double every 32 years if that rate is maintained.Friday Okonofua, the co-author of the report, said, "We are failing Nigerian adolescents when it comes to providing them with the information and services they need to delay marriage and avoid unintended pregnancies." She added that the lack of information leaves girls and young women vulnerable to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections like HIV (BBC News, 6/16).
News of the day
Pluronic L-81: A Potential Anti-Diabetic Drug?
Pluronic surfactants are synthetic copolymers based on ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. It has been reported that a nonionic L-81, effectively inhibits absorption of dietary lipids from the intestine and secretion of VLDL and LDL from the liver. Although L-81 is a potent anti-obesity drug, its potential in alleviating obesity-induced insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has not been fully explored.
Sexual Health

Link Between Vitamin D And Reduction In Multiple Sclerosis Risk

Could a holiday in the sun reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis? In a recent review for F1000 Medicine Reports, Bridget Bagert and Dennis Bourdette highlight recent advances in potential treatments. Multiple sclerosis (MS) results from a failure of the body to recognize itself. The immune system attacks and destroys the sheath that protects nerve fibres, as if it were a foreign body or infection. Vitamin D, which is produced in the skin in response to natural sunlight, is an immune system regulator. This might explain why MS is less common in sunnier countries. Giving MS sufferers vitamin D pills - or encouraging them to spend more time in the sun - might be a cheap and easy treatment. Bagert and Bourdette point out that oral vitamin D therapy is now in phase II clinical trials, to see how well it works and how much would be needed. They say "The arrival of effective oral agents will give MS patients more therapeutic options and will be a major advance in the global effort to alter the natural history of this chronic disease". Dennis Bourdette, Faculty Member for F1000 Medicine, is chairman of the Department of Neurology and director of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center at Oregon Health and Science University, USA. Bridget A Bagert is a member of the Department of Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA The full text of this article is available at http://www.f1000medicine.com/reports/10.3410/m1-34/. Kathleen Wets Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine


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