Medical News: Low-Fat Diets, Doctors, Heart Test
POSTED: 2:41 pm EDT April 25, 2007
UPDATED: 5:29 pm EDT April 25, 2007
BOSTON -- When you cut down on cookies and chips, does it leave you feeling flat? It might be because a low-fat diet causes stress.Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania deprived mice of high-fats, putting them on a low-cal diet, leading the mice, they say, to become anxious. A brain image showed the mice released high-levels of a stress hormone. Researchers said moods improved when they were allowed high-fat foods.
Doctors And Drug Companies
A new survey out of Mass General Hospital is making headlines, and it's raising questions about doctors' close relationships with drug companies.Researchers conducted a survey of more than 1,600 U.S. physicians and found 94 percent of the doctors said they had some type of relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. More than a quarter said they had received payments for consulting, lecturing or enrolling patients in clinical trials.There is nothing illegal about doctors accepting money for marketing talks, but critics worry how these connections influence a doctor's behavior.Heart Test For Kids
The push is on to get kids screened for a hidden heart problem.Former Miss Massachusetts Michaela Gagne is spreading the message. Gagne was 17 when she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Long Q-T Syndrome can cause her heart to go into cardiac arrest.We hear about kids unexpectedly dying from sudden cardiac arrest every year. But doctors said this heart problem can often be detected with a simple test.On Saturday, Gagne will be in Andover, Mass., where kids can get a free heart screening. It's being held at the West Middle School cafeteria at 70 Shawsheen Road in Andover. The event is going on between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.Copyright 2007 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.






