The effect of emotion recognition and mindfulness on depression symptoms: A case-control study.

Abnormalities in emotion recognition (ER) are frequently reported in depression, with lower recognition accuracy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) when compared to healthy individuals. Mindfulness was found to directly impact the severity of depressive symptoms, by recognizing negative cognitions and dysfunctional reactions. The aims of this study were to compare ER and mindfulness levels between MDD patients and healthy controls (HCs), as well as to examine whether ER and mindfulness are related to symptom severity in MDD patients.

Examination of plasma zonulin levels in bipolar I disorder: a case-control study with follow-up.

There is an accumulation in studies which strive to reveal zonulin's potential role in mental disorders. To date, one cross-sectional recent study examined zonulin in patients with bipolar disorders (BDs); however, its role still remains vague due to high fluctuation. Our aims are to determine plasma zonulin levels in exacerbation and treatment response periods, and to examine the associations between zonulin and symptom severity in BD.

[Needs of Patients with Schizophrenia and Their Predictors].

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the needs of patients with schizophrenia and to determine the sociodemographic and clinical variables associated with these needs.

Method: The study was carried out with 94 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers. The diagnoses were established based on DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association 1994) criteria.

Reasons for clozapine discontinuation in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Although clozapine is more effective than other antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia, the rate of its discontinuation is also high. The aim of this retrospective chart-review study was to investigate the causes of clozapine discontinuation in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. This study included a total of 396 patients with schizophrenia, 240 still on clozapine therapy and 156 who discontinued clozapine, and compared their clinical characteristics.

Assessing the relationship between attachment, parental attitude and plasma oxytocin in schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings.

Background: It is widely acknowledged that schizophrenia patients tend to have insecure attachment styles and improper parenting. However, the biological processes related to these adversities remain unclear and that the disturbance in oxytocin system is considered as one of the strongest predictors of such adversities.

Methods: Thirty-four patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected thirty-four healthy siblings were recruited for the study and they were compared with thirty-one healthy controls.

[The Effect of Theory of Mind Capacities of Mothers of Patients with Schizophrenia on the Severity of the Diseases].

Objective: Studies conducted with patients with schizophrenia and first-degree relatives show that, the pathology in theory of mind may be related to the risk of psychosis. The theory of mind capacities of the mothers may be effective in the prognosis of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of theory of mind capacities of patient mothers on the severity of the disease.

Cortisol response to stress in schizophrenia: Associations with oxytocin, social support and social functioning.

Previous studies reported attenuated cortisol reactivity as one explanation for poor social functioning in schizophrenia. Recent research has demonstrated that both glucocorticoid and oxytocin systems are central to stress regulation. Here, we studied the associations between basal oxytocin, stress-induced cortisol levels, and social functioning and social support in schizophrenia.

Associations of oxytocin and vasopressin plasma levels with neurocognitive, social cognitive and meta cognitive function in schizophrenia.

Many with schizophrenia experiences deficits in social cognition, neurocognition and metacognition. Yet the biological mechanisms which may underpin these cognitive deficits are poorly understood. Two candidate causes of these deficits are disturbances in oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP).

The Effect of Medical Education on Attitudes Towards Schizophrenia: A Five-Year follow-Up Study.

Objective: It has been widely acknowledged that the community and health professionals hold negative attitudes toward patients with impaired mental health. This constitutes a majör obstacle for those patients in coping with their disease, managing their care, and hence regulating their lives. Although studies carried out in Turkey document the presence of stigma, they provide limited information about the ways for solving this problem.

The developmental origins of metacognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

The deficits in metacognition have been observed in schizophrenia but developmental roots of impaired metacognition are not well understood. Accordingly, this study compared metacognitive abilities of patients with schizophrenia and healthy group and examined the relationship between childhood trauma, attachment style and caregiver attitudes with metacognitive capacity which might contribute to metacognitive deficits in patient group. 35 patients with schizophrenia and 35 healthy people were included in the study.

Oxidative stress in schizophrenia: a case-control study on the effects on social cognition and neurocognition.

Background: Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that presents impairments in neurocognition and social cognition. Several studies have suggested that the etiology of schizophrenia can be partly explained by oxidative stress. However, our knowledge about the implications of oxidative stress on illness-related cognitive deficits is still far from being clear.

Social approach and avoidance behaviour for negative emotions is modulated by endogenous oxytocin and paranoia in schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia suffer from dysfunctional social behaviour. Social approach and avoidance (AA) has been associated with motor responses, as the affective valence and gaze direction of facial stimuli can bias push and pull motor tendencies. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous oxytocin in social AA behaviour in schizophrenia.

A closer look at the relationship between the subdomains of social functioning, social cognition and symptomatology in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia.

Impairments in social functioning commonly seen in schizophrenia are thought to be mediated by deficits in the domains of social cognition. Some previous research has explored how social cognitive skills and psychotic symptoms are associated with social functioning, however these associations are still under debate. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between different domains of social cognition and psychotic symptomatology, and also to look at the relationships with individual subdomains of social functioning within a clinically stable schizophrenia population.

Intrinsic motivation and metacognition as predictors of learning potential in patients with remitted schizophrenia.

Background: Previous research has suggested that neurocognitive functioning predicts best the potential of patients with schizophrenia to acquire newly learned material, which, in turn may impact patients' social functioning. Recent studies have also shown that intrinsic motivation and metacognitive abilities play a decisive role in social functioning in schizophrenia. Accordingly, the present study sought to examine the relationship between intelligence, motivation, metacognition, and learning during a cognitive remediation experimental training.

[The perceived burden of care and its correlates in schizophrenia].

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the perceived level of burden of care and its correlates in family members of schizophrenia patients.

Method: The study included 239 schizophrenic patients that were followed-up at the psychiatric outpatient clinics of Izmir Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, and Celal Bayar University Medical School, and 239 of their primary caregivers. Patients were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANNS), Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), Social Functioning Scale (SFS), Brief Cognitive State Examination (BCE), and UKU Side Effect Rating Scale.

Efficacy and tolerability of switching to ziprasidone from olanzapine, risperidone or haloperidol: an international, multicenter study.

To compare the effectiveness of a switch from haloperidol (N=99), olanzapine (N=82), or risperidone (N=104) to 12 weeks of treatment with 80-160 mg/day ziprasidone in patients with stable schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Stable outpatients with persistent symptoms or troublesome side effects were switched using one of three 1-week taper/switch strategies as determined by the investigator. Efficacy was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score, Clinical Global Impression, Positive and Negative Symptom Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and tolerability by using standard measures of weight change, extrapyramidal symptoms, and laboratory findings.

[Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS)].

Objective: SASS is a new self-evaluation scale that assesses the level of social functioning in depressed patients for clinical research purposes. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of SASS.

Method: Data were obtained from 2 different sample groups that had no physical disturbances that could impair social functioning; healthy participants between the ages of 18 and 65 years (n = 66) and patients (n = 227) diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Effects of second generation antipsychotics on leptin and ghrelin.

Background: Weight gain is a major side effect of antipsychotic treatment. Some atypical antipsychotic agents have profound effects on weight. Body weight is regulated by a complex system, including both peripheral and central factors.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in conversion disorder: Comparative study with depression.

The aim of the present study was to compare serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and conversion disorder (CD). Serum BDNF levels were measured in the following three groups: 15 CD patients without any comorbid diagnosis of psychiatric disorder, 24 patients with MDD, and 26 healthy subjects without any psychiatric diagnosis or psychiatric treatment. The serum BDNF level of the healthy control group (31.

[The symptomatology and prevalence of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in Manisa, Turkey].

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, the frequency and severity of the symptoms, and their association with sociodemographic variables in fertile women between the ages of 15 and 49 years.

Method: The study included 541 women living in the area of the 7th Primary Health Care Center of Manisa, Turkey. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and a sociodemographic data form, a DSM-IV diagnostic criteria form, and the premenstrual evaluation form (PEF) were administered.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor level in dysthymia: a comparative study with major depressive disorder.

In this present work, it is aimed to demonstrate BDNF serum concentrations in patients with dysthymia and to compare them with BDNF serum concentrations in patients with major depressive disorder and healthy subjects. The study was carried out in Celal Bayar University Hospital, Manisa, Turkey. Seventeen patients with dysthymia, 24 patients with major depressive disorder and 26 subjects without any psychiatric diagnosis and any psychiatric treatment were included in the study.

[Case report: kleptomania and other psychiatric symptoms after carbon monoxide intoxication].

Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication is usually a serious condition, which can result in neurological disturbances or death. In some patients with CO intoxication, but not usually, a biphasic pattern can be seen. In this condition, after antitoxic treatment, patients may completely recover and after a short recovery period, neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms appear again.

Developing a quality of life instrument in patients with psoriasis: the Psoriasis Quality of Life Questionnaire (PQLQ).

Background And Design: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease which causes psychological, social and physical problems and affects quality of life. The aim of this study was to develop a quality of life instrument for patients with psoriasis which is suitable for Islamic populations.

Materials And Methods: The psychosocial and daily life problems defined by 75 patients with psoriasis, their relatives and physicians were used to construct a questionnaire, the reliability and validity of which were determined in a group of 156 patients with psoriasis.