Search Results for: child

Giving children allergies with pets

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This 2021 human study investigated development and persistence of allergies: “Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common IgE-mediated disorder involving troublesome symptoms of nasal congestion, nasal itch, sneezing, and associated eye symptoms. Like many chronic health conditions, AR stems from complex gene–environment interactions. 130 subjects with AR were recruited. Control population included 154 healthy children who … Continue reading Giving children allergies with pets

A disturbance in the paradigm of child abuse

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The principal way science advances is through a principle Einstein expressed as: “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” The scientific community and public should be satisfied that the scientific process is working well when hypotheses are discarded due to nonconfirming evidence. Researchers should strive to … Continue reading A disturbance in the paradigm of child abuse

What will it take for childhood trauma research to change paradigms?

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This 2018 German human study found: “DNA methylation in a biologically relevant region of NR3C1-1F [glucocorticoid receptor gene] moderates the specific direction of HPA-axis dysregulation (hypo- vs. hyperreactivity) in adults exposed to moderate-severe CT [childhood trauma]. In contrast, unexposed and mildly-moderately exposed individuals displayed moderately sized cortisol stress responses irrespective of NR3C1-1F DNA methylation. Contrary … Continue reading What will it take for childhood trauma research to change paradigms?

Sex-specific impacts of childhood trauma

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This 2018 Canadian paper reviewed evidence for potential sex-specific differences in the lasting impacts of childhood trauma: “This paper will provide a contextualized summary of neuroendocrine, neuroimaging, and behavioral epigenetic studies on biological sex differences contributing to internalizing psychopathology, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder and depression, among adults with a history of childhood abuse. Given the … Continue reading Sex-specific impacts of childhood trauma

DNA methylation and childhood adversity

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This 2017 Georgia human review covered: “Recent studies, primarily focused on the findings from human studies, to indicate the role of DNA methylation in the associations between childhood adversity and cardiometabolic disease in adulthood. In particular, we focused on DNA methylation modifications in genes regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as the immune system.” Recommendations … Continue reading DNA methylation and childhood adversity

The pain societies instill into children

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The human subjects of this 2017 Swiss study had previously been intentionally traumatized by Swiss society: “Swiss former indentured child laborers (Verdingkinder) were removed as children from their families by the authorities due to different reasons (poverty, being born out of wedlock) and were placed to live and work on farms. This was a practice … Continue reading The pain societies instill into children

Do preventive interventions for children of mentally ill parents work?

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The fifth and final paper of Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance week was a 2017 German/Italian meta-analysis of psychiatric treatments involving human children: “The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most significant causes of psychiatric morbidity. Several risk factors for children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) have been identified in numerous studies and meta-analyses. … Continue reading Do preventive interventions for children of mentally ill parents work?

Prisoners of our childhoods

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Same old shit – another failed relationship. Coincident with the start of our relationship, I was struck by a phrase by Dr. Janov, posted in Beyond Belief: What we do instead of getting well: “It doesn’t matter about the facts we know if we cannot maintain a relationship with someone else.” I kept that thought … Continue reading Prisoners of our childhoods

Parental lying thwarted both their children and researchers

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This 2017 German human study explored the relationship between birth stress and handedness. The authors summarized previous research which, among other points, estimated epigenetic contributions to handedness as great as 75%. The research hypothesis itself was worthwhile based on the prior studies cited and elsewhere such as Group statistics don’t necessarily describe an individual. But the … Continue reading Parental lying thwarted both their children and researchers

Does childhood trauma influence offspring’s birth characteristics?

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This 2016 Swedish human study investigated the effects of one specific childhood trauma, parental death: “Parental (G1) death during (G2) childhood predicts prematurity and lower birthweight in the offspring generation (G3). This response is dependent on G2 gender, G2 age at exposure and G3 parity, but not on G3 gender. Offspring of women who lost … Continue reading Does childhood trauma influence offspring’s birth characteristics?

The current paradigm of child abuse limits pre-childhood causal research

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As an adult, what would be your primary concern if you suspected that your early life had something to do with current problems? Would you be interested in effective treatments for causes of your symptoms? Such information wasn’t available in this 2016 Miami review of the effects of child abuse. The review laid out the … Continue reading The current paradigm of child abuse limits pre-childhood causal research

Using an epigenetic clock with children

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This 2015 UK human study by many of the coauthors of What’s the origin of the problem of being fat? applied the Horvath epigenetic clock method to the same UK mother-child pairs and a Danish cohort: “There has been no investigation on prenatal and antenatal factors that affect AA [age acceleration] in children. It is … Continue reading Using an epigenetic clock with children

A problematic study of oxytocin receptor gene methylation, childhood abuse, and psychiatric symptoms

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This 2016 Georgia human study found: “A role for OXTR [oxytocin receptor gene] in understanding the influence of early environments on adult psychiatric symptoms. Data on 18 OXTR CpG sites, 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms, childhood abuse, and adult depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed in 393 African American adults. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), a … Continue reading A problematic study of oxytocin receptor gene methylation, childhood abuse, and psychiatric symptoms

A study of stress factors and neuroplasticity during infancy/early childhood

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This 2015 French rodent study found: “The coordinated actions of BDNF and glucocorticoids promote neuronal plasticity and that disruption in either pathway could set the stage for the development of stress-induced psychiatric diseases. Genetic strategies that disrupted GR [glucocorticoid receptor] phosphorylation or TrkB [the BDNF receptor] signaling in vivo impaired the neuroplasticity to chronic stress … Continue reading A study of stress factors and neuroplasticity during infancy/early childhood