Health Highlights: Nov. 22, 2008

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Getting Bad News May Be Better Than Not Knowing at All, Study Says

No news is good news, right?

Not necessarily, University of Toronto researchers found, according to the New York Times.

In fact, it's better to get bad news than no news at all, the newspaper reports, because not knowing something may increase anxiety and stress.

The researchers hooked up 41 men and women to electrode caps and asked them to perform tasks, while their neural activity was monitored, the Times reports. The highest neuron response was when the computer feedback issued a question mark instead of a plus sign (job well done) or a minus sign (needs improvement). The question mark gave no indication of what was required next.

This brain activity indicated that being uncertain about an outcome among people who are neurotic is worse than actually receiving bad news. "Basically the motto of the highly neurotic person is, 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't,' " Jacob Hirsch, the study's lead author, told the Times.

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N.P.R. Radio Host Has Ties to Drug Makers: Report

Between 2000 and 2007, the psychiatrist who hosts National Public Radio's "The Infinite Mind" received at least $1.3 million giving lectures for drug makers, a connection that wasn't mentioned on the program.

In his shows, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin often discussed topics linked to the commercial interests of the companies for which he consults, The New York Times reported. For example, in a Sept. 20, 2005, program he told his audience that untreated bipolar disorder in children could lead to brain damage, a controversial opinion. Goodwin then told his audience that "modern treatments -- mood stabilizers in particular -- have been proven both safe and effective in bipolar children," the newspaper said.

On the same day, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline paid Goodwin $2,500 to give a promotional lecture for a mood stabilizer drug. In 2005, Goodwin made more than $329,000 promoting that drug, the Times said.