Exploring Healthcare Experiences for Incarcerated Individuals Who Identify as Transgender in a Southern Jail

Purpose: To document the health-related experiences and needs of jail detainees who self-identified as transgender women. Methods: Semistructured interviews with 10 transgender women of color were conducted in a county jail in a mid-sized southern city between 2015 and 2016. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and later analyzed using a general inductive approach. Results: Participants experienced high levels of abuse and harassment, solitary confinement, mental health issues, and lack of access to hormone treatment. Participants described discrimination (both by other inmates-particularly while in special housing units-and correctional officers); harsh correctional conditions, which exacerbated mental health issues; and a marked lack of access to healthcare, including hormone treatments. Conclusion: Policy changes are needed to address housing and placement issues, and to increase access to healthcare for transgender women jail detainees. Training is needed for jail staff and medical care professionals in correctional settings to better understand the unique needs and experiences of transgender people

Variants in GBA , SNCA , and MAPT influence Parkinson disease risk, age at onset, and progression

Multiple genetic variants have been linked to risk of Parkinson disease (PD), but known mutations do not explain a large proportion of the total PD cases. Similarly, multiple loci have been associated with PD risk by Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). The influence that genetic factors confer upon phenotypic diversity remains unclear. Few studies have been performed to determine whether the GWAS loci are also associated with age at onset (AAO) or motor progression. We used two PD case-control datasets (Washington University and the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative) to determine whether polymorphisms located at the GWAS top hits (GBA, ACMSD/TMEM163, STK39, MCCC1/LAMP3, GAK/TMEM175, SNCA, and MAPT) show association with AAO or motor progression. We found associations between SNPs at the GBA and MAPT loci and PD AAO and progression. These findings reinforce the complex genetic basis of PD and suggest that distinct genes and variants explain the genetic architecture of PD risk, onset, and progression