There is a chemical in the blood, which if controlled, may prevent harmful allergic reactions - anaphylaxis - to such foods as peanuts, medicines and insect venom, according to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). A new study indicates it may have found out which chemical this is, and why levels of it are not controlled adequately in some people. Approximately 1,000 Americans die each year as a result of anaphylaxis.

If you are a woman and remain physically active up to and during the menopause, symptoms such as anxiety, depression and stress may be eased as a result of your physically active lifestyle, according to an article published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (MSSE).In this study, Deborah Nelson, Ph.D., Temple University, and team wanted to find out whether physical activity reduced the risk of menopausal symptoms among Caucasian and African American women.

Emergency department physicians are prescribing more narcotics to patients who say they have pain, but minority patients are less likely than whites to receive such drugs, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

United Auto Workers’ “gamble that it can manage the health care costs of up to 700,000 people” through a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association “comes with a side wager over how much the union can boost its influence in the health care debate in Washington,” which “will be key to whether the union can contain health care costs enough to keep its $52 billion fund for retiree health care solvent,” the

Many Medicare Advantage plans “are continuing to prey on elderly Americans despite state, federal and industry efforts to stop them,” which is “yet another reason to rein in these operations by eliminating their unjustified subsidies,” a New York Times editorial states. The editorial says that these private MA plans are “an ethical horror” and “a financial drag …

“Health of Previously Uninsured Adults After Acquiring Medicare Coverage,” Journal of the American Medical Association: The study evaluates how gaining Medicare coverage affected the health of previously uninsured adults. [click link for full article]

A teenager who smokes may find it harder to understand what other people are saying, according to an article published in The New Scientist. The risk is also there if a teenager’s mother smoked while she was pregnant with him/her. Leslie Jacobsen of Yale University School of Medicine and team used diffusion tensor imaging. This measures how water diffuses through brain tissue. They studied 33 teenagers - all their mothers had smoked during pregnancy. [click link for full article]

The Washington Post on Tuesday examined the “winners” and “losers” among lobbyists in 2007. According to the Post, among the winners in 2007, a partnership between AARP and the [click link for full article]

Following a major fire yesterday, the clean up at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Chelsea, London, is underway. The hospital’s website informs that the hospital’s management walked through the damaged area this morning with fire officers. Initial reports indicate that the damage was not as bad as was first feared. “We are working as quickly as we can to get the Chelsea hospital up and running and our main priority is to ensure continuity of care for our patients. [click link for full article]

Hispanic women have a higher chance than other women of having the BRCA1 genetic mutation, which increases the likelihood of developing breast and ovarian cancers, according to a study published in the Dec. 26 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, HealthDay/Austin American-Statesman reports (Stern, [click link for full article]