Du parricide rêvé à l’infanticide réel,ou l’expertise mentale dans tous ses états

The authors describe at length the case of a 33-year-old woman who shot and killed her 9-year-old daughter and attempted suicide immediately afterwards. The judicial inquiry revealed that this infanticidal mother originally intended to kill her own father, who she accused of having sexually abused her in her own childhood and now her daughter, but that unforeseen circumstances changed the mode of operation. She was the subject of seven more or less contradictory psychiatric experts opinions over a period of more than three years before finally being found criminally irresponsible by the court of assizes. She was suffering from delusional psychotic mental disorders at the time of the homicide-suicide. The authors discuss and criticize the conclusions of the experts opinions and instead recommend a multidisciplinary criminological analysis that takes all the objective ans subjective aspects on the case into account.     

Vitamin A deficiency exacerbates autism-like behaviors and abnormalities of the enteric nervous system in a valproic acid-induced rat model of autism

The manifestations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly heterogeneous. As many individuals with ASD have gastrointestinal (GI) comorbidities, ASD with GI problems is considered to be a subtype of ASD. Vitamin A (VA) plays an important role in the development of both the central and peripheral nervous system. However, the relationship between VA deficiency (VAD) and ASD with GI comorbidities is still unclear. We established rat models with different VA levels based on the valproic acid-induced autism model. Compared to autism model rats with VA normal (VAN), autism model rats with gestational VAD showed more severe autism-like behavior, increased GI transit time, and impairment of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Besides, the expression levels of retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) and Ret in autism model rats with VAD were decreased compared with those in rats with VAN. Supplementation with VA was found to effectively ameliorate autism-like behaviors and impairments of GI motility and the ENS in autism model rats with VAD. Chromatin immunoprecipitation results suggested that RARa can bind to the promoter region of the Ret gene and regulate the Ret signaling pathway. We speculate that VAD in autism might lead to impairments of both the brain and ENS. VAD might be a factor that causes individuals to be more susceptible to ASD-related risk factors and aggravates a subtype of ASD with GI comorbidities.     

Relación entre estrés y malestar psicológico de los padres y problemas emocionales y conductuales en niños preescolares con trastorno del espectro autista

IntroductionThe Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterised by general deficits in social communication, stereotypes, and restricted interests. The ASD have a high prevalence of additional psychiatric disorders that make their daily functioning worse, and reduces the quality of life of them and their families.Material and methodsIn an effort to identify family environmental characteristics that may influence in the course of additional psychiatric disorders, this study has focused on the symptoms of parental stress and psychological distress as possible risk factors. A cross-section study was carried out on the relationship between the stress and psychological distress of the parents and its relationship with co-existing psychopathology in a population of pre-school children with ASD (2-6 years).Results and conclusionsHigh levels of stress and psychological distress of the parents arealready associated, since early childhood, with co-existing psychiatric symptoms, specifically with emotional and behavioural problems (p < 0.05). However, further longitudinal studies are needed for a better understanding of the causal relationship between these variables and their possible bidirectional relationship.     

Prevalence and associated factors of behavioral intention for risk compensation following voluntary medical male circumcision among male sexually transmitted diseases patients in China

Risk compensation was an important concern of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) promotion campaigns. No study investigated risk compensation following VMMC among male sexually transmitted diseases patients (MSTDP). A cross-sectional survey interviewed 308 uncircumcised MSTDP in Shenzhen, China. 26.9% of them intended to perform at least one of the five types of risk compensation behaviors following VMMC. In the summary stepwise model, provision of incorrect response to HIV/sexually transmitted diseases knowledge items (multivariate odds ratios (ORm)?=?2.30), genital herpes infection (ORm?=?3.19), Risk Reduction Score for Unprotected Sex, and Negative Condom Attitudes Scale (ORm?=?1.13) were significantly associated with behavioral intention to perform at least one type of risk compensation behavior following VMMC. The results provided a framework for developing related interventions. Prevention of risk compensation should be an essential component of VMMC promotion for all MSTDP, irrespective of their intention for VMMC.