BOSTON -- In Friday's medical news, NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported on early Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, doctors' health and music's effect on the body.

Music And Health

Whoever wrote that music soothes the savage beast knew what he was talking about, according to new research.

Researchers in Europe studied breathing and circulation in 24 young people as they listened to six different types of music ranging from Vivaldi to Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The faster the music, the more participants' breathing and heart rate increased. Slower music caused heart rates to fall.

But the sounds of silence may be the best for stress. During the pauses between songs, patients' stress levels fell to their lowest point of all.

Healthy Docs

Harvard doctors are practicing what they preach, according to a new survey.

Of the more than 2,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School responding to a recent health survey, only 39 doctors said they smoke and just 12 percent regularly eat at fast food restaurants.

More than half claim to exercise at least three times a week.

And those workouts are paying off -- the faculty's average body mass index was 23.9 on the high end of the healthy range.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital have developed a new dye that could offer early, noninvasive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

When tested in the brains of mice, the dye shows up as bright white spots highlighting the proteins that are the first signs of Alzheimer's disease.

"These are the senile plaques that are purported either to cause the disease or be the result of the disease, but follow hand in hand with progression of the disease," said Dr. Brian Bacskai, of Mass General.

Researchers said research is needed, so it will be at least a decade before the dye can be used in humans.

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