Children who don’t conform to expected gender stereotypes, even before age 11, are at significantly greater risk for physical, sexual and psychological abuse during childhood and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young adulthood, report researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston. Their findings, based on a large, national, population-based sample, appear in the March 2012 Pediatrics (published online February 20).

The NIH-funded study, led by S. Bryn Austin, ScD, of Children’s Hospital Boston and the Harvard School of Public Health, used data gathered by questionnaire from almost 9,000 young adults (average age, 23) who enrolled in the longitudinal Growing Up Today Study in 1996.

In 2007, respondents were asked to recall their childhood experiences, including favorite toys and games, roles they took in pretend play, media characters they imitated or admired, and feelings of femininity or masculinity. They were also asked about physical, sexual or emotional abuse they experienced at the hands of parents, other adults or older children, and were screened for PTSD.

Childhood gender nonconformity was reported across all sexual orientations; fully 85 percent of youth who were gender nonconforming when they were young were heterosexual in adulthood.

Women who ranked in the top 10 percent for gender nonconformity before age 11 reported a higher prevalence of all forms of childhood abuse both before age 11 and between 11 and 17, as compared with women falling below the median.  Men in the top 10 percent for nonconformity in childhood had a higher prevalence of sexual and physical abuse before age 11 and psychological abuse between 11 and 17. Both groups had a higher prevalence of PTSD as adults.

“Because we used a broad definition, our ‘high nonconformity’ group was actually 10 percent of the sample,” notes Austin, the study’s senior investigator. “That’s 1 in 10 children — a large group of kids who are at higher risk for abuse, present in every classroom and neighborhood.”

Austin and colleagues urge pediatricians and school health providers to consider abuse screening for these children and advise parents that they may need to do more to protect and support them. “People need to be aware that discrimination and abuse targeting gender-nonconforming children are widespread, affect kids at a very young age and have lasting impacts on health,” Austin says. “These vulnerable children need our care and protection.”

The article Childhood Gender Nonconformity May Lead to Abuse and Psychiatric Disorders appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Save Babies Through Screening Foundation (SBTS), the only national volunteer-run nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to the advocacy of newborn screening (NBS), reaffirmed its commitment to the public health value of retention and appropriate use of residual dried blood spot specimens.

SBTS will increase its efforts to raise awareness and disseminate vital information in order to better educate the public on this issue of growing visibility and importance. ”Recent litigation efforts in Texas and Minnesota dried blood spot specimens make clear the abundance of misinformation in circulation regarding the privacy and protection related to the use of newborn blood spots,” said Jill Levy-Fisch, SBTS President.

“Now more than ever, a public education campaign is needed to provide greater clarity about the benefits of retaining these samples as well as the privacy protections already in place in all states and afforded by the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.”

Many components in a properly stored blood spot can last for decades, enabling doctors to make use of samples for health-related testing of patients, long after the NBS process has concluded. In addition, the retention of de-identified samples allows researchers to develop new and more refined screening tests as well as conduct quality control assessments of screening methods already in use.

Currently, laws regulating the retention and use of blood spot specimens differ from state to state. All states, however, have patient privacy protections in place. Strict state and federal rules and regulations govern the use of these specimens for research. Specimens can only be used for research without patient consent if all identifying information has been removed.

Researchers must work through an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and state health institutions. Once approval is granted, researchers receive de-identified samples in order to ensure that privacy is protected.

“Newborn screening is one of the most successful public health efforts of the last 50 years,” notes Dr. Jerry Vockley, Professor of Pediatrics and Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School and Chief of Medical Genetics at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

“The blood spots represent a valuable resource that provide us with the ability not only to quality control screening programs but also to develop new tests that play a crucial role in helping diagnose disorders that can lead to death or severe mental disabilities. They enable us to do this early enough to allow therapy and treatment to work before these diseases are able to take their course.”

“These dried spots are invaluable for the development of new life-saving newborn screening tests and increased understanding of the conditions that will lead to better treatments,” added Dr. R. Rodney Howell, Professor of Pediatrics and Chairman Emeritus, Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.

“These blood spots must be stored and used under conditions that will maintain the public confidence in the programs. The Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Hereditary Disorders in Newborns and Children (SACHDNC), of which I was the Founding Chairman, has published a report outlining the ideal storage and use of these spots, and I strongly recommend that states follow these suggestions.”

SBTS recognizes the need for state public health departments to address public concerns about privacy and consent while at the same time clearly articulating the importance of NBS and the possible public health benefits of research using dried blood spots. To this end, SBTS supports the recent SACHDNC report and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on this subject (see the July 2011 issue of Genetics in Medicine ).

This report clearly reaffirms the need to “improve efforts to educate the public and healthcare providers about NBS and the retention and use of specimens.” It does not encourage the destruction of this very valuable national resource.

The article Newborn Screening Organization Reaffirms Commitment to Public Health appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Hospice of the Western Reserve is kicking off a program to recognize “Hospice Heroes,” a community of individuals, families, and school, church or service groups across Northern Ohio who host fundraising activities that help the non-profit agency provide care to all who need it, regardless of their ability to pay.

Last year, the hospice covered unreimbursed expenses and charity care valued at nearly $5 million in the Northern Ohio region. According to Bill Sluzewski, development officer, fundraising events range from simple activities like selling candy bars, to larger events, like craft shows, benefit concerts and golf outings. “The organizers are often family members or friends of a patient who had been in our care,” he explained.

“Whether it’s a one-time activity or an annual event, it’s a legacy of love that honors their loved one and keeps their memory alive by giving back to other patients and families.” Such is the case for “Misty’s Wish,” created in 2010 by Sherri Viccarone, a resident of Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood, in loving memory of Misty, her teenaged daughter.

Misty, who was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, was cared for by Hospice of the Western Reserve during the final stage of her life.  The non-profit agency serving Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Summit Counties, offers one of the few pediatric hospice and palliative programs in the country.

Hospice helped with Misty’s medical supplies, medicine, physical and psychological therapies, and also supported Sherri and the extended family by guiding them the complex healthcare maze and providing emotional and spiritual support throughout the illness.  They also gave Misty an unexpected gift.

One day, a hospice team member asked Misty if there was one wish she would like to have granted before she died. Her response was a surprise to everyone: “I want my Dad to adopt me.” (Her stepfather was the only father she had known as she was growing up.) Within just ten days, Hospice of the Western Reserve’s legal team worked with a Cleveland judge to grant Misty’s wish to be legally adopted.

When Misty died, her mother, Sherri, was determined to tell her story to help other families coping with their children’s terminal illnesses, and to keep her daughter’s memory alive.  She started out by organizing an event called the “Misty Viccarone Christmas Memorium,” which involved collecting teddy bears and donating them to the Cleveland Clinic’s Oncology Department for children undergoing cancer treatment.

In 2010, Mrs. Viccarone and a dedicated group of volunteers expanded upon initial efforts by hosting a commemorative fundraiser with bowling, raffles and prizes. They called the event “Misty’s Wish,” a reference to the final wish Hospice of the Western Reserve helped to fulfill.

The event raised more than$5,000 for the non-profit agency’s pediatric palliative care patients. It was so successful that the group decided to make it an annual event.  Last year’s event, held at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Hts., generated an incredible $8,600. Mrs. Viccarone acknowledges that having a child diagnosed with a terminal illness is something no parent can ever anticipate or be equipped to deal with emotionally or psychologically.

However, she is determined to create something positive from the tragic circumstances.  An important part of her mission is helping other parents and caregivers by expanding awareness of pediatric palliative care.

“When I first tell people about the mission of Misty’s Wish, they’re sometimes shocked and surprised,” she said. “There’s a misconception that hospice care is only for the elderly.  In fact, a co-worker who even knew Misty had died of a brain tumor asked me why there was a need for a pediatric hospice team.

My answer was simple: `Because children die.’” Misty died on July 27, 1996, but thanks to the love and dedication of her family and friends, her memory lives on to help others through Misty’s Wish.

The article ‘Hospice Heroes’ Raise Funds for Western Reserve’s Pediatric Patients appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Former Delaware pediatrician, Dr. Earl Bradley was sentenced on August 26 to 14 life sentences without the possibility of parole. He was convicted of 14 counts of rape and received an additional 160 years for sexually abusing 103 of his patients from 1998 to 2009.

He was originally indicted for 470 counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a child; that number was later consolidated to just 24 through negotiations with lawyers. During his career from 1994 to his arrest in 2009, he received a number of complaints from patients, parents and colleagues, and was the focus of two police investigations.

The Medical Board of Directors in Delaware was supposedly contacted a number of times in regards to his unprofessional conduct with his patients, but the Medical Board insists it never received any allegations concerning Bradley until after his arrest.

The two initial police investigations were never granted permission for a search warrant, and so without any physical evidence, the Delaware police were unable to continue their investigations. Despite the complaints lodged against Bradley while he was a licensed pediatrician, the truth of the harm he was doing to his patients was beyond what anyone suspected.

When the police finally were able to get a search warrant after a two-year old girl complained to her mother about Bradley hurting her genitals, they were able to seize 83 tapes and DVDs showing Bradley molesting young children.

In the trial, one of the police officers involved in the case testified that the average age of his victims was only three years old, because they were not as verbal as older children. He would often force the children to perform oral sex on him, and then give them colored ice to cover up any blood or swelling.

Additionally, in the videos he is seen sometimes grabbing a child by the head and throwing the child on a couch after forcing the child to perform sex acts. As the horrific details of this case begin to come out, people are questioning how this pediatrician was allowed to practice medicine for so long without his more sinister actions being found out.

Following Bradley’s arrest, Governor Jack Markell asked Linda L. Ammons, the dean of the Widener University School of Law, to compile a report reviewing the current laws and policies in place. Her 62-page report outlined 68 recommended changes, while avoiding placing blame on any single organization or practice.

Following the report, Gov. Markell passed nine laws that would help to prevent misconduct like this to continue undetected by tightening regulations and encouraging both the medical and police communities to work together with suspected physician misconduct and child abuse.

Billed by Ammons’ report as the “pedophilia case of the century,” the atrocities uncovered during this case have encouraged other states to review their reporting policies regarding physicians as well.

As Earl Bradley begins his permanent internment in prison, the families and victims of those he hurt have found some measure of justice for the actions incurred upon them and now have the task of healing from the damage caused by Bradley’s insidious actions.

The article Pediatrician Convicted of Child Abuse Sentenced appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.