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Study Objective: Parents of girls with Turner syndrome (TS) are coping with various challenges associated with caring for a child with a genetic disorder. We aimed to explore the importance of group support for parents of girls with TS in a small pilot study., Methods: Group support sessions for parents of girls with TS were divided into meetings regarding psychological aspects, medical aspects, and social aspects. Questionnaires about how the families perceive TS and what obstacles they are facing were given before and after the group support through the Mentimeter application. Questionnaires were given at the end of the group sessions to assess efficacy and satisfaction., Results: Parents of 18 girls, with a median (interquartile range) age of 9 (5.5, 12) years old, participated in the group, 56% with 45X karyotype. On average 72% of the participants said that the sessions much/very much contributed, and 10% said that the sessions hardly contributed (P < .05). At the end of the sessions, parents shared that they felt more confident, less isolated, and gained more knowledge regarding TS, and a community-based sharing process was initiated. At the end of the support group, 15 (83%) versus 3 (17%) said they would like to continue the meetings of the support group (P = .0001)., Conclusion: A support group specifically designed for parents of girls diagnosed with TS enhanced cooperation and empathy through diminishing feelings of isolation, offering crucial information, and fostering a secure environment for sharing and support., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Aims:  Assess the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) technology, in reducing pain and anxiety, and improving adherence and glycemic control among children with type 1 diabetes (T1D)., Methods: Children with T1D, managed with continuous glucose monitoring and insulin pumps, were recruited for a randomized cross-over trial. Children were randomized to one of two interventions for diabetes management: group 1 used VR glasses first and group 2 listened to vocal-guided affective imagery first (audio). After 1 month, the interventions were crossed over. The outcome measures included pain and anxiety assessment, adherence, glycemic control, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of VR satisfaction and effectiveness., Results:  Forty children, mean age 11.4 ± 1.8 years, were participated. During the VR part, the monthly mean pain score compared to the baseline improved in both groups by 30% (p = 0.03). A 14% reduction in the state anxiety score was observed from baseline to 1 month in both groups (p = 0.009). Glycemic control measures including time in range, time above range, and glucose management indicator improved in both groups during VR part (p < 0.004 for all), compared to audio part. After one month, the patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) of satisfaction and effectiveness was sixfold higher after 1 month in group 1 compared to group 2 (p = 0.002). Adherence improved for both groups., Conclusions: VR was shown to be effective in reducing pain and anxiety, improving adherence, PROM, and glycemic control among children with T1D. We suggest incorporating VR technology in pediatric diabetes clinics to facilitate and improve coping and management of diabetes., Trial Registration: Trial registration number and date of registration for prospectively registered trials:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05883267, May 10th, 2023., (© 2023. Springer-Verlag Italia S.r.l., part of Springer Nature.)

Context: Growth hormone (GH) treatment of short healthy children is based on the belief that short stature is associated with psychosocial problems and a diminished quality of life., Objective: To determine the impact of GH therapy on psychosocial well-being and the ability of psychological metrics to define short stature-related distress., Methods: Sixty prepubertal boys with idiopathic short stature (age: 10.0 ± 1.4 years, height-SDS: -2.38 ± 0.3) were enrolled in this 4-year intervention study (1-year double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled [GH/placebo-2:1] and 3-year open-labelled GH therapy). Explicit (conscious/voluntary) psychological metrics (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory [PedsQL], Silhouette Apperception Test [SAT], Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [RSES], Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL]) and implicit (unconscious/involuntary) psychological metrics (Single-Category Implicit Association Test for height [SC-IAT-H], Height Perception Picture Test [HPPT]). Psychosocial evaluations were performed at study entry, after 1 and 4 years., Results: At study entry, PedsQL of boys with idiopathic short stature was lower than Israeli norms (P = 0.001). After 1-year blinded intervention, only the GH-treated boys improved their actual and anticipated adult height perception (SAT, P < 0.001 and P = 0.022) with reduced short stature-related distress (SC-IAT-H, P < 0.001). At study end, RSES and SC-IAT-H improved significantly (P < 0.001), with no change in PedsQL and CBCL., Conclusions: Our finding of improved psychosocial functioning only in the GH-treated boys after 1-year blinded intervention suggests that it was the GH therapy, rather than being enrolled in a clinical trial, which contributed to the outcome. Long-term open-labelled GH treatment significantly improved height perception and self-esteem. Future studies are needed to fully assess the relevance of complementing the routinely used explicit self-report measures with the implicit measures., (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)