Hidden aspects of child abuse.

Child abuse related to witchcraft and exorcism phenomena is not limited to specific cultures, religious beliefs, races and geographic areas and it can be seen in all periods of human culture and civilization. Despite the widespread consequences of harm, due to the limited reports and announced statistics, the scope of the problem in comparison to other forms of child abuse seems minor. The legal and judicial services are often unaware of these cases and it is not highlighted in police and social service databases as a significant factor in child abuse.

Radiation-Free myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A comparison of outcomes between patients with and without central nervous system involvement.

For patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), total body irradiation (TBI) has been particularly advocated as a part of the conditioning regimen in case of extramedullary involvement in sanctuary sites such as the central nervous system (CNS), to ensure greater tissue penetration. In resource-limited countries lacking TBI facilities; however, ALL patients undergo radiation-free myeloablative conditioning, though its impacts on post-HSCT outcomes of the patients with pre-HSCT CNS involvement have not been analyzed. In this 14-year series of 278 adult (> 18 y) ALL patients undergoing TBI-free busulfan/cyclophosphamide conditioning allo-HSCT, we found that the long-term probabilities of overall survival, disease free survival, relapse and non-relapse mortality were not significantly different between CNS-involved and CNS-spared patients.