Health Highlights: Aug. 3, 2004

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

Kids' Schizophrenia Tied to Mom's Flu During Pregnancy

A Columbia University study found that children born to mothers who had the flu during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy have a threefold greater risk of developing schizophrenia as adults.

Researchers looked for antibodies to the influenza virus in blood samples collected from 189 pregnant women between 1959 and 1966. They then determined whether the women's children had developed schizophrenia, the Boston Globe reported.

Previous studies identified an association between flu during pregnancy and schizophrenia in offspring. But those studies relied on mothers' recollections of whether they had the flu while they were pregnant or examined whether the mothers of schizophrenics were pregnant during influenza outbreaks.

This new study provides more conclusive evidence of the link between mothers having flu during pregnancy and schizophrenia in their children.

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Scientists Developing Nasal Spray for RA

U.K. scientists are working to develop a nasal spray that delivers gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The spray would contain a gene -- interleukin-10 -- that switches off the inflammatory process that causes RA, and also stimulate cells that are able to control harmful immune cells, BBC News Online reports.

Previous research found that when interleukin-10 is given by injection, it causes generalized suppression of the immune system. It's hoped that using a nasal spray to deliver the gene will avoid that problem.

The scientists at King's College London said their research is still in the laboratory stage, but hope to begin clinical trials within three years.

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Fire Hazard Prompts Heater Recall

A potential fire hazard has led to the recall of a million portable electric whole room heaters made by Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., of Andover, Kan.

A faulty electrical connection can cause the heaters to overheat and stop working, resulting in a fire hazard, says the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. So far, the company has received 24 reports of heater fires. There have been no injuries.

The recalled heaters are designed for indoor use and have model numbers 180VH, VH, Intellitemp, EVH, and DVH. The model numbers are located on the bottom of each unit. The heaters have the "Vornado" name and symbol on the front.

They were sold nationwide from July 1991 through January 2004 for between $50 and $120. Consumers are advised to stop using the recalled heaters and contact Vornado to arrange for free shipping and repair.

Contact the company at 1-888-221-5431 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday or go to the Vornado Web site.

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5 Million U.S. Children Added to Public Health Insurance Rolls

Some 5 million children in the United States have been added to the public insurance rolls since 2001, a new study found.

In many cases, the changes were made because the children's parents lost employer-sponsored health coverage, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change, a private research firm in Washington, D.C.

According to an analysis of the research by the Associated Press, 63.4 percent of Americans were insured by their employers in 2003, down from 67 percent two years earlier. The research group cited the national economic downturn as a primary factor.

A separate Urban Institute report released Tuesday highlighted the problems faced by uninsured children, including the fact that half of children who weren't covered by insurance last year didn't get a medical checkup, the AP reported.

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Bogus Cancer Cures Put Thousands at Risk: Study

Bogus alternative therapies peddled on the Internet are putting thousands of cancer patients at risk, a leading British scientist concluded in a new study.

"If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is," Professor Edzard Ernst of Exeter University's Peninsula Medical School told the Guardian newspaper. He warned that patients who research treatments via the Internet need to exercise great caution.

Of 32 popular Web sites he analyzed, 118 unproven "cures" for cancer were recommended, Ernst said. Even more troubling, he noted, three Web sites discouraged patients from using conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, the Guardian reported.

Two popular examples of bogus cures included shark cartilage and laetrile, a chemical derived from the pits of certain fruits. There is "not a shred of evidence" that either of these substances helps cancer patients, Ernst told the newspaper.

Some products peddled as cancer cures, though produced by nature, can be dangerous, he said. "Not everything that is natural is risk-free," Ernst warned.

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45 Percent of Ear-Nose-Throat Docs Made Recent Error: Poll

Forty-five percent of ear-nose-and-throat doctors (otolaryngologists) who responded to a recent survey admitted to making a medical error during the prior six months.

Technical errors during surgery accounted for 19 percent of the mistakes, followed by medication errors (14 percent) and testing errors (10 percent), according to survey author Dr. David Roberson at Children's Hospital Boston.

Younger doctors were more likely than physicians over age 50 to report such errors, according to a statement released by the hospital.

The statement said Roberson believes the percentage of otolaryngologists who had admitted to a recent medical error is an underestimate. His research appears in the August issue of the journal Laryngoscope.