"Reaction to the study published in the journal Academic Forensic Pathology have been “mixed,” he said. Given the controversy, he’s happy with that result.
Indeed, many in medicine refuse to believe Shaken Baby Syndrome even exists. At the other extreme, blanket verdicts of SBS from Dr. Charles Smith led to a string of false murder convictions in Ontario that took years or decades to overturn.
“The finding in the neck is not a marker of murder,” cautioned Matshes, assistant chief medical examiner for Alberta. “It’s a marker that force has been applied to the neck. It is critically important that investigators gain a clear understanding of what happened.”
Some pathologists are already using the neck-autopsy technique, he said. He hopes other will, despite the time it takes."
REPORTER LESLEY CIARULA TAYLOR; THE TORONTO STAR;
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"A Canadian pathologist has uncovered radical new evidence for how the highly contentious injuries of Shaken Baby Syndrome happen," the Toronto Star story by reporter Lesley Ciarula Taylor published earlier today under the heading, "Shaken Baby Syndrome traced to neck, not brain, study says," begins.
"The syndrome, first discovered in 1971, remains “the most controversial area in forensic pathology,” Dr. Evan Matshes told the Star on Friday," the story continues.
"For years, investigators used three elements in the brain to prove an infant with no other visible signs of injury had been shaken violently enough to kill.
That has led some in medicine to question whether the syndrome even exists.
Matshes and other pathology researchers performed autopsies on 35 infants and toddlers and found the actual injury is traced to an infant’s neck, where “cervical spine nerve roots” in effect smother a baby’s diaphragm.
Because a child in the first year of life has such weak chest muscles, he or she uses the diaphragm to breathe much more than an older child or adult would.
“It was one of those ‘wow’ moments,” said Matshes of the discovery.
Reaction to the study published in the journal Academic Forensic Pathology have been “mixed,” he said. Given the controversy, he’s happy with that result.
Indeed, many in medicine refuse to believe Shaken Baby Syndrome even exists. At the other extreme, blanket verdicts of SBS from Dr. Charles Smith led to a string of false murder convictions in Ontario that took years or decades to overturn.
“The finding in the neck is not a marker of murder,” cautioned Matshes, assistant chief medical examiner for Alberta. “It’s a marker that force has been applied to the neck. It is critically important that investigators gain a clear understanding of what happened.”
Some pathologists are already using the neck-autopsy technique, he said. He hopes other will, despite the time it takes.
An autopsy on the neck to detect these injuries requires more than three weeks of work with an acid bath, extra time he acknowledges can be “frustrating for everyone involved” in the investigation of an infant’s death.
Still, “We all want the same outcome. Every pathologist and every pediatrician all want an accurate representation of what this little tyke has been exposed to.”"
The story can be found at:
http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/babiespregnancy/babies/article/1022001--shaken-baby-syndrome-traced-to-neck-not-brain-study-says
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
