Child abuse, depression, and methylation in genes involved with stress, neural plasticity, and brain circuitry.

Objectives: To determine whether epigenetic markers predict dimensional ratings of depression in maltreated children.

Method: A genome-wide methylation study was completed using the Illumina 450K BeadChip array in 94 maltreated and 96 healthy nontraumatized children with saliva-derived DNA. The 450K BeadChip does not include any methylation sites in the exact location as sites in candidate genes previously examined in the literature, so a test for replication of prior research findings was not feasible.

Child abuse and epigenetic mechanisms of disease risk.

Background: Child abuse is highly prevalent and associated with increased risk for a range of health problems, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, psychiatric disorders, and other health problems. Little is currently known about the mechanism by which early adversity confers risk for health problems later in life.

Purpose: To determine if there are epigenetic differences associated with child maltreatment that may help explain association between adverse childhood experiences and later health problems.

Posttraumatic stress disorder: the missed diagnosis.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently underdiagnosed in maltreated samples. Protective services information is critical for obtaining complete trauma histories and determining whether to survey PTSD symptoms in maltreated children. In the current study, without protective services information to supplement parent and child report, diagnosing PTSD was missed in a significant proportion of the cases.

MAOA genotype, maltreatment, and aggressive behavior: the changing impact of genotype at varying levels of trauma.

Background: Childhood adversity has been shown to interact with monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA) genotype to confer risk for antisocial behavior. Studies examining this gene-by-environment (G x E) association, however, have produced mixed results.

Methods: Relevant research is reviewed, and results of a study with 114 children (73 maltreated and 41 control subjects) are presented.

Corpus callosum in maltreated children with posttraumatic stress disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Contrary to expectations derived from preclinical studies of the effects of stress, and imaging studies of adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is no evidence of hippocampus atrophy in children with PTSD. Multiple pediatric studies have reported reductions in the corpus callosum--the primary white matter tract in the brain. Consequently, in the present study, diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess white matter integrity in the corpus callosum in 17 maltreated children with PTSD and 15 demographically matched normal controls.

Genetic and environmental predictors of early alcohol use.

Background: The goal of the current investigation was to examine genetic and environmental predictors of early alcohol use, a potent predictor of later alcohol dependence.

Methods: This study represents an add-on project to an investigation examining the efficacy of an intervention for maltreated children entering out-of-home care. Predictors of early alcohol use include the following: maltreatment, family loading for alcohol or substance-use disorders, and serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR; locus SLC6A4).

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-5-HTTLPR gene interactions and environmental modifiers of depression in children.

Background: Child abuse and genotype interact to contribute to risk for depression in children. This study examined gene-by-gene and gene-by-environment interactions.

Methods: The study included 196 children: 109 maltreated and 87 nonmaltreated comparison subjects.

SAFE Homes: is it worth the cost? An evaluation of a group home permanency planning program for children who first enter out-of-home care.

Objective: To evaluate the SAFE Homes (SH) program, a short-term group care program for children between 3 and 12 years of age who enter care for the first time. The program aims to improve case outcomes by consolidating resources to facilitate assessment and treatment planning.

Methods: The 1-year outcomes of 342 children who received SAFE Home services and 342 matched foster care (FC) control children were compared.

Social supports and serotonin transporter gene moderate depression in maltreated children.

In this study, measures of the quality and availability of social supports were found to moderate risk for depression associated with a history of maltreatment and the presence of the short (s) allele of the serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). The present investigation (i) replicates research in adults showing that 5-HTTLPR variation moderates the development of depression after stress, (ii) extends the finding to children, and (iii) demonstrates the ability of social supports to further moderate risk for depression. Maltreated children with the s/s genotype and no positive supports had the highest depression ratings, scores that were twice as high as the non-maltreated comparison children with the same genotype.