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WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Gay and bisexual men in the United States have higher skin cancer rates than heterosexual men, while bisexual women have lower rates than heterosexual women, according to a new study. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analyzed data culled from national surveys conducted from 2014 to 2018 and found that skin cancer rates were 8.1% among gay men, 8.4% among bisexual men, and 6.7% among heterosexual men. Rates were 4.7% among bisexual women, 5.9% among lesbian women, and 6.6% among heterosexual women. The difference in rates between lesbian women and heterosexual women was not statistically significant, according to the researchers. These findings could be important for patient education and community outreach programs...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Rising drug costs are hampering the care of patients with debilitating neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's, a new study finds. Patients are less likely to fill necessary prescriptions as out-of-pocket costs increase, said senior researcher Dr. Brian Callaghan, a neurologist with the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. "It's a pretty predictable 5% to 10% drop for every $50 increase in cost," Callaghan said. For patients with Parkinson's disease, not taking medications as prescribed can severely impact their quality of life, he noted. "The Parkinson's medicines are supposed to help make their tremors better, help them walk faster better. Theoretically, it could prevent falls and hospitalizations," Callaghan...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The mystery of "stinging water" has been solved, scientists say. Stinging water is the seawater near and around upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea) -- and swimmers can get stinging, itchy skin while submerged in it, even if they have no direct contact with the creatures themselves. But it wasn't clear in the past if the jellyfish were to blame for this discomfort, since several other possible causes had been suggested, including severed jellyfish tentacles, "sea lice," anemones and other stinging marine animals. In this new study, researchers concluded that stinging water is caused by toxin-filled mucus that the jellyfish release into the water. The mucus contains gyrating balls of stinging cells called cassiosomes. "This discovery was...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- An expandable artificial heart valve could save children with congenital heart disease from repeated open heart surgeries as they grow up, researchers report. Current artificial heart valves are fixed in size, meaning children need to get larger ones as they grow. Children who receive their first artificial valve before age 2 will require up to five open-heart operations before they become adults. This new design means children could keep the same artificial heart valve until adulthood, and it could also benefit adults with heart valve defects, according to the Boston Children's Hospital team. Current artificial heart valves have three leaflets, tiny flaps that provide a one-way inlet or outlet for blood to keep it flowing in the right...