The Effect of Kinship Foster Care Compared to Non-Kinship Foster Care on Resiliency

An estimated 40% to 60% of children in foster care have clinically significant emotional or behavioral problems (US Public Health Service, 2000). Children in foster care experience a range of complex psychosocial issues due to a loss of stability in a foundational biological family unit. Research shows that placement type may have an impact on a child’s socioemotional resiliency and level of access to needed mental health services (Lynch, 2011; Smithgall, Yang, & Weiner 2013; Winokur, 2014). The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate the effect of foster home placement type, specifically kinship foster care compared to non-kinship foster care, on foster child resilience. Methods included evaluation of systematic reviews, descriptive research, and cohort studies. This review synthesizes results from 11 articles comparing beneficial and negative effects of both kinship and non-kinship foster care on various indicators of child well-being including behavior, mental health, financial resources, and placement stability. Ultimately, there was no evidence to prove that either kinship or non-kinship foster care had an overall more desirable effect than the other on resilience. Rather, research suggests that each may offer solutions to specific needs - kinship care providing more beneficial psychosocial effects and non-kinship care providing more beneficial economic effects. While further research is needed due to an insufficient evidence base, the existing research seems to suggest that the most effective placement type for a child needs to be determined based on his individual set of needs

Pharmacy History exhibit (2021)

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The effect of kinship foster care compared to non-kinship foster care on resiliency

This literature review evaluated the effect of foster home placement type on foster child resilience. Existing literature was evaluated and synthesized to compare the negative and positive effects of both kinship and non-kinship foster care on various indicators of child resilience including behavior, mental health, financial resources, and placement stability

Epigenetic targeting of Hedgehog pathway transcriptional output through BET bromodomain inhibition

Hedgehog signaling drives oncogenesis in several cancers and strategies targeting this pathway have been developed, most notably through inhibition of Smoothened. However, resistance to Smoothened inhibitors occurs via genetic changes of Smoothened or other downstream Hedgehog components. Here, we overcome these resistance mechanisms by modulating GLI transcription via inhibition of BET bromodomain proteins. We show the BET bromodomain protein, BRD4, regulates GLI transcription downstream of SMO and SUFU and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies reveal BRD4 directly occupies GLI1 and GLI2 promoters, with a substantial decrease in engagement of these sites upon treatment with JQ1, a small molecule inhibitor targeting BRD4. Globally, genes associated with medulloblastoma-specific GLI1 binding sites are downregulated in response to JQ1 treatment, supporting direct regulation of GLI activity by BRD4. Notably, patient- and GEMM-derived Hedgehog-driven tumors (basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor) respond to JQ1 even when harboring genetic lesions rendering them resistant to Smoothened antagonists

Normative brain volumetry derived from different reference populations: Impact on single-subject diagnostic assessment in dementia

Brain imaging data are increasingly made publicly accessible and volumetric imaging measures derived from population-based cohorts may serve as normative data for individual patient diagnostic assessment. Yet, these normative cohorts are usually not a perfect reflection of a patient’s base population, nor are imaging parameters such as field strength or scanner type similar. In this proof of principle study, we assessed differences between reference curves of subcortical structure volumes of normal controls derived from two population-based studies and a case-control study. We assessed the impact of any differences on individual assessment of brain structure volumes. Percentile curves were fitted on the three healthy cohorts. Next, percentile values for these subcortical structures for individual patients from these three cohorts, 91 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 95 Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) cases and patients from the Alzheimer Center (AC) were calculated, based on the distributions of each of the three cohorts. Overall we found that the subcortical volume normative data from these cohorts is highly interchangeable, suggesting more flexibility in clinical implementation

Normative brain volumetry derived from different reference populations: Impact on single-subject diagnostic assessment in dementia

Brain imaging data are increasingly made publicly accessible and volumetric imaging measures derived from population-based cohorts may serve as normative data for individual patient diagnostic assessment. Yet, these normative cohorts are usually not a perfect reflection of a pat

Therapeutic and Prognostic Implications of BRAF V600E in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas

Purpose BRAF V600E is a potentially highly targetable mutation detected in a subset of pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs). Its biologic and clinical effect within this diverse group of tumors remains unknown. Patients and Methods A combined clinical and genetic institutional study of patients with PLGGs with long-term follow-up was performed (N = 510). Clinical and treatment data of patients with BRAF V600E mutated PLGG (n = 99) were compared with a large international independent cohort of patients with BRAF V600E mutated-PLGG (n = 180). Results BRAF V600E mutation was detected in 69 of 405 patients (17%) with PLGG across a broad spectrum of histologies and sites, including midline locations, which are not often routinely biopsied in clinical practice. Patients with BRAF V600E PLGG exhibited poor outcomes after chemotherapy and radiation therapies that resulted in a 10-year progression-free survival of 27% (95% CI, 12.1% to 41.9%) and 60.2% (95% CI, 53.3% to 67.1%) for BRAF V600E and wild-type PLGG, respectively (P < .001). Additional multivariable clinical and molecular stratification revealed that the extent of resection and CDKN2A deletion contributed independently to poor outcome in BRAF V600E PLGG. A similar independent role for CDKN2A and resection on outcome were observed in the independent cohort. Quantitative imaging analysis revealed progressive disease and a lack of response to conventional chemotherapy in most patients with BRAF V600E PLGG. Conclusion BRAF V600E PLGG constitutes a distinct entity with poor prognosis when treated with current adjuvant therapy. (C) 2017 by American Society of Clinical Oncolog