BackgroundThe aim of the study was to explore resilience among refugee children whose parents had been traumatized and were suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).MethodsThe study comprised 80 refugee children (40 boys and 40 girls, age range 6–17 yrs), divided into two groups. The test group consisted of 40 refugee children whose parents had been tortured in Iraq before coming to Sweden. In accordance with DSM-IV criteria, these children were further divided in two sub-groups, those who were assessed as having PTSD-related symptoms (n = 31) and those who did not have PTSD-related symptoms (n = 9). The comparison group consisted of 40 children from Egypt, Syria and Morocco whose parents had not been tortured. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3rd edn. (WISC-III), Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents- Revised (DICA-R), Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms checklist (PTSS), "I Think I am" (ITIA) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to assess IQ; PTSD-related symptoms; self-esteem; possible resilience and vulnerability.ResultsChildren without PTSD/PTSS in the traumatized parents group had more favorable values (ITIA and SDQ) with respect to total scores, emotionality, relation to family, peer relations and prosocial behavior than the children in the same group with PTSD/PTSS and these values were similar to those the children in the comparison group (the non-traumatized parents group). The children in the non-traumatized parents group scored significantly higher on the IQ test than the children with traumatized parents, both the children with PTSD-related symptoms and those without PTSD-related symptoms.ConclusionAdequate emotional expression, supportive family relations, good peer relations, and prosociality constituted the main indicators of resilience. Further investigation is needed to explore the possible effects of these factors and the effects of IQ. The findings of this study are useful for treatment design in a holistic perspective, especially in planning the treatment for refugee children, adolescents and their families.

The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus is involved in the control of energy intake and expenditure and may participate in the pathogenesis of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Two systems are of particular interest in this respect, synthesizing ␣-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (␣-MSH) and synthesizing neuropeptide Y, respectively. We report here that 42 of 57 (74%) AN and͞or BN patients studied had in their plasma Abs that bind to melanotropes and͞or corticotropes in the rat pituitary. Among these sera, 8 were found to bind selectively to ␣-MSH-positive neurons and their hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic projections as revealed with immunostaining on rat brain sections. Adsorption of these sera with ␣-MSH peptide abolished this immunostaining. In the pituitary, the immunostaining was blocked by adsorption with ␣-MSH or adrenocorticotropic hormone. Additionally, 3 AN͞BN sera bound to luteinizing hormonereleasing hormone (LHRH)-positive terminals in the rat median eminence, but only 2 of them were adsorbed with LHRH. In the control subjects, 2 of 13 sera (16%) displayed similar to AN͞BN staining. These data provide evidence that a significant subpopulation of AN͞BN patients have autoantibodies that bind to ␣-MSH or adrenocorticotropic hormone, a finding pointing also to involvement of the stress axis. It remains to be established whether these Abs interfere with normal signal transduction in the brain melanocortin circuitry͞LHRH system and͞or in other central and peripheral sites relevant to food intake regulation, to what extent such effects are related to and͞or could be involved in the pathophysiology or clinical presentation of AN͞BN, and to what extent increased stress is an important factor for production of these autoantibodies.A norexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are two officially recognized eating disorders that affect Ϸ3% of women during their lifetime (1). Both illnesses usually make their debut at young age and are characterized by hyperactivity and exaggerated concern about body shape and weight, and they often occur in the same patients (2). AN is manifested by an aversion to food, often resulting in life-threatening weight loss and amenorrhea, whereas BN includes large uncontrolled eating episodes followed by compensatory vomiting without significant change in body weight. Even if the cause(s) of AN and BN is still unclear, a body of data exists suggesting a primary neurobiological origin (3), and neuropeptides also have been implicated in these disorders (4). These assumptions are paralleled by growing evidence for a role of hypothalamic peptidergic neurons in conditions associated with energy deprivation or energy excess, providing a concept for central mechanisms controlling food intake and body weight (5-7). In a search of possible mechanisms implicating hypothalamic peptidergic neurons in the etiology and pathogenesis of AN͞BN, we hypothesized that hypothalamic systems responsible for the regulation of food intake could be targeted by autoantibodies...