Former children's TV show host is linked to child abuse case, Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder

Former children's TV show host is linked to child abuse case
By Associated Press February 11, 2016
A California judge has determined that a man recently arrested in a San Diego suburb is a fugitive wanted in a 1979 child sexual abuse investigation in Louisiana, where he was a children's TV show host known as “Mr. Wonder.”

A San Diego County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday after a brief identity hearing.

Authorities say Frank John Selas III assumed a new identity in the San Diego area, where he often invited children to his house to swim and was a Cub Scout leader. He was arrested in January.

The ruling sets the stage for extradition proceedings to begin.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-childrens-tv-show-host-child-abuse-20160211-story.html

Study Links Child Abuse, Neglect to Earlier Onset of Bipolar Disorder   HealthDay Feb. 11, 2016  By Robert Preidt

THURSDAY, Feb. 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- People with bipolar disorder who have a history of being abused or neglected as children may have more severe symptoms and a higher risk of suicide, new research suggests.

"Our findings have important implications for clinical practice, as they suggest that a history of childhood maltreatment could be used as an early indicator of high risk for poor outcomes among individuals with bipolar disorder," said study author Jessica Agnew-Blais, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London in England.

"This information could be valuable for identifying patients with bipolar disorder who may benefit from greater support and treatment," she said in a college news release.

The researchers reviewed 30 studies. While they only found an association, rather than a cause-and-effect link, they said bipolar patients who suffered from neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children were more likely to have more severe manic, depressive and psychotic symptoms compared to those who weren't abused.

People with bipolar disorder who were abused as children also had a higher risk of anxiety disorders and substance and alcohol abuse disorders, the research showed.

Those abused as children developed bipolar symptoms more than four years earlier, the study found. They also were nearly four times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder. And they were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who weren't mistreated during childhood, the researchers said.... The study was published Feb. 9 in The Lancet Psychiatry.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-02-11/study-links-child-abuse-neglect-to-earlier-onset-of-bipolar-disorder