Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study.

Background: Violence against women is a relevant health and social problem with negative consequences on women's health. The interaction between genome and environmental factors, such as violence, represents one of the major challenges in molecular medicine. The Epigenetics for WomEn (EpiWE) project is a multidisciplinary pilot study that intends to investigate the epigenetic signatures associated with intimate partner and sexual violence-induced stress-related disorders.

Older adult abuse in a service for sexual and domestic violence: Medico-legal implications from the experience of an Italian center.

Older adults are subject to vulnerability and abusive behaviors have serious negative health consequences. Since the phenomenon is underestimated, several challenges are faced to prevent, diagnose, and treat abuses on older adults. In this context, clinical forensic medicine practitioners can play a pivotal role.

Intimate Partner Violence in the COVID-19 Era: A Health, Psychological, Forensic and Legal Perspective.

This commentary aims to provide a multidisciplinary framework on intimate partner violence (IPV) during the COVID-19 pandemic (with a specific focus on the most predominant form of gender-based violence, i.e., male violence towards women), commenting on the multiple negative consequences of the pandemic on gender violence and providing elements of effective practice.

Twenty years of femicide in Milan: A retrospective medicolegal analysis.

Femicide constitutes a leading cause of premature deaths for women, yet it has been the subject of limited research until recently. Enhanced data collection and analysis on killings of women and girls are necessary to understand and address this unrelenting phenomenon. This study examines all cases of female homicide encountered at the Institute of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) spanning from 1999 to 2019; data from 2020/2021 were shown separately given the bias that the forced cohabitation and stay at home during the lockdowns of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic may represent regarding violence against women and femicide.

Sexual violence in adult women and adolescents.

Sexual violence is a widespread phenomenon, as it has been estimated that about 35.6% of women have experienced some forms of sexual abuse, with variable prevalence estimates worldwide. Sexual violence has remarkable negative consequences on women's health and quality of life, with a specific harmful impact on women's psychological well-being and sexuality.

Sexual assault and abuse committed against family members: An analysis of 1342 legal outcomes and their motivations.

Background: Over the past years medical centres specifically addressed in gender-based violence have developed protocols for the collections of evidence useful in the courtroom, including accurate documentation of physical and psychological states of the victim and collection of samples. Previous studies showed an association between documented physical trauma and conviction but unfortunately, few studies in the recent literature analysed the factors that influence the legal outcome and final judgement. The present study focused on the elements that appeared of significance in the legal outcome, including medico-legal evaluation, source of the crime report and circumstance of the assault.

An Italian single-center retrospective analysis of 1106 consecutive cases of child and adolescent abuse: key elements of effective practices.

Background: Child and adolescent maltreatment refer to several forms of abuse and neglect, with negative and harmful consequences on children's and adolescents' physical and psychological health.

Methods: This study aims to provide a wide perspective on child and adolescents maltreatment from a large, public, anti-violence center located in a university hospital (SVSeD, Sexual and Domestic Violence Service) and to suggest models of tailored therapeutic interventions and proposals for effective clinical practice.

Results: The sample study was obtained by analyzing 1106 medical records of victims aged 0 to 17 referring to SVSeD for all types of abuse.

Male victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence: A steadily increasing phenomenon.

Violence perpetrated on male victims is a phenomenon that is currently underestimated by both national and international scientific communities, since males are historically (and stereotypically) considered the perpetrators rather than the victims of violence. As a consequence, the available literature lacks data which would allow a better understanding of this issue and its presenting features. We undertook a retrospective analysis of 231 medical files of male victims of violence over a five-year-period (2014-2018) at the Soccorso Violenza Sessuale e Domestica Centre in Milan, Italy.

Similarity and Differences in Sexual Violence Against Adolescents and Adult Women: The Need to Focus on Adolescent Victims.

Study Objective: To explore whether there are differences in characteristics, clinical findings and management in cases of sexual violence in adolescent and adult women.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: SVSeD-Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.

COVID-19, Lockdown, and Intimate Partner Violence: Some Data from an Italian Service and Suggestions for Future Approaches.

Intimate partner violence (IPV)-defined as physical, psychological, sexual, and/or economic violence typically experienced by women at home and perpetrated by their partners or expartners-is a pervasive form of violence that destroys women's feelings of love, trust, and self-esteem, with important negative consequences on physical and psychological health. Many reports from several countries have underlined a remarkable increase in the cases of IPV during the COVID-19 emergency. In this opinion article, we discussed the hypothesis that such an increase may be related to the restrictive measures enacted to contain the pandemic, including women's forced cohabitation with the abusive partner, as well as the exacerbation of partners' pre-existing psychological disorders during the lockdown.

Effects of SARS Cov-2 epidemic on the obstetrical and gynecological emergency service accesses. What happened and what shall we expect now?

Objective: During the lockdown period, the fear about the risk of infection in hospital has reduced the admission to Emergency Services (ES) with possible negative health effects. We have investigated the changes in the emergency flow occurred during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in an obstetrics and gynecological ES and the short-term adverse outcomes on women's and reproductive health.

Study Design: The study was conducted in the OBGYN ES of the Clinica Mangiagalli, the largest maternity clinic of Milan, Lombardy, Northern Italy.

Vaginal delivery in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women in Northern Italy: a retrospective analysis.

Objective: To report mode of delivery and immediate neonatal outcome in women infected with COVID-19.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Twelve hospitals in northern Italy.

The medico-legal assessment of asylum seeker victims in Italy.

Introduction: Changing patterns of migration has required states and governments to respond to the specific medical and legal needs of asylum seekers. Based on medical assessments undertaken at the University Institute of Legal Medicine, the present study aims to describe the cases of asylum applicants who have suffered from physical violence, including torture, and the variables involved.

Methods: Over a 10-year period, 225 survivors were examined by clinical forensic professionals from the University Institute of Legal Medicine.

Skin lesions and traditional folk practices: a medico-legal perspective.

The correct assessment of signs of abuse on the skin is a challenge of utmost importance for both clinical and forensic applications. This review aims to investigate how differing cultural behaviors influence the perception of abuse, focusing on the need for a multidisciplinary approach and investigation. A literature search for articles that discussed folk practices from a forensic perspective was performed; articles with reference to abuse in the description of the main folk healing techniques and with reference to the differential diagnosis between physical abuse and skin injuries due to folk healing techniques were selected.

The effect of the medico-legal evaluation on asylum seekers in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy: a pilot study.

In the present-day situation, the clinical forensic documentation of an asylum seeker's narrative and his or her examination, together with the physical and psychological findings, may have very important effects on the outcome of the request for political asylum. Since 2012, the Municipality of Milan, the University Institute of Legal Medicine, and other institutions have assembled a team with the task of examining vulnerable asylum seekers and preparing a medical report for the Territorial Commission for International Protection (Prefecture, Ministry of Interiors), who will assess the application. We compared medico-legal reports and outcomes of 57 cases which were evaluated by the Commission after having undergone a medico-legal evaluation through the Istanbul Protocol criteria and examined, in particular, which medico-legal variables seem associated to the outcome.

Fetal Doppler changes 1 week after endoscopic equatorial laser for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome: A longitudinal study.

Objective: To investigate sequential Doppler changes in donors and recipients before and 1 week after endoscopic laser for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and to examine factors that may be associated with such changes.

Methods: In TTTS pregnancies undergoing laser treatment, we examined fetal Doppler changes before and 1 week postintervention. Intrauterine death rates and preoperative factors were analyzed in relation to Doppler changes.

Vaginal rejuvenation: current perspectives.

Female genital cosmetic surgery includes several procedures aimed at reaching better female genital appearance and/or improved sexual functioning. Among these procedures, vaginal rejuvenation is considered as one of the most controversial genital cosmetic surgical interventions and involves a range of surgical procedures performed by gynecologists or plastic surgeons to decrease the average diameter of the vagina, mainly for sexual reasons. In this narrative review, vaginal rejuvenation outcomes are examined in order to clarify the current scenario of the different vaginal rejuvenation techniques, as well as their effectiveness and associated complications.

Polishability and wear resistance of splint material for oral appliances produced with conventional, subtractive, and additive manufacturing.

Occlusal splints to treat bruxism are commonly made from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in a manual workflow (powder-liquid technique). Today digitalization allows a machine-based manufacturing in subtractive (milling) and additive (printing) means using industrial-made PMMA or comparable resins. An in-vitro study should assess the surface finish and screen the wear resistance of conventional and industrial materials.

The Adult Male Rape Victim: Forensic Description of a Series of 57 Cases.

A retrospective analysis on 57 adult male victims of sexual violence has been performed. Age, nationality and anamnesis of the victims, location of the assault, type of violence, number and identity of the assailants, presence of physical injuries, lapse of time between the assault and the request of medical assistance, and toxicological and semen detection tests were analyzed. Victims were mostly in the 31- to 40-year age group.

What Is Known and Unknown About the Association Between Endometriosis and Sexual Functioning: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

It is well known that endometriosis is associated with an increase in the risk of deep dyspareunia, with potential negative effects on global female sexual functioning and couple relationship. The aims of this study were to review the literature on the impact of endometriosis on female sexual functioning and to suggest new avenues for future research and treatment strategies. An electronic database research was performed to identify all the studies on the relation between endometriosis and sexual functioning published in the period 2000 to 2016.

Sexual Violence Against Adolescent Girls: Labeling It to Avoid Normalization.

Violence against women is a pervasive complex phenomenon that destroys women's feelings of love, trust, and self-esteem. In this commentary, we specifically focus on sexual violence against adolescent girls, whose impact is particularly harmful since it may lead to impaired mental health, social functioning, and neurodevelopment. Between 12% and 25% of adolescent girls throughout the world experience sexual violence, very often perpetrated by a family member or a friend.