Customary practices, domestic violence, and psychosomatic pain among adolescent mothers in Turkey.

Background: Adolescent motherhood is present in many societies worldwide, including Turkey.

Aims: We aimed to determine the demographical and cultural characteristics of adolescent mothers, lifetime domestic violence and history of miscarriage, and whether they suffer from any kind of medically unexplained (psychosomatic) pain in a study in south-eastern Turkey.

Methods: We included 501 mothers in this case-control study.

The Levels of Cortisol and Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage in Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual Abuse with or without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether cortisol and oxidative stress levels and DNA damage differ between individuals who developed PTSD or not following a sexual trauma.

Methods: The study included 61 children aged between 5 and 17 years who sustained sexual abuse (M/F: 18/43). The patients were divided into two groups: patients with PTSD and patients without PTSD based, based on the results of a structured psychiatric interview (K-SADS-PL and CAPS-CA).

The Levels of Cortisol, Oxidative Stress, and DNA Damage in the Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Preliminary Study.

In this study we aimed to investigate serum cortisol, oxidative stress, and DNA damage in children who are sexual abuse victims. The study included 38 children who sustained child sexual abuse and 38 age- and gender-matched children who did not have a history of trauma. Cortisol levels reflecting the status of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, anti-oxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, natural anti-oxidant coenzyme Q, and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine as the indicator of DNA damage were analyzed in serum samples using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method.

Altered lipid peroxidation markers are related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and not trauma itself in earthquake survivors.

The traumatic life events, including earthquakes, war, and interpersonal conflicts, cause a cascade of psychological and biological changes known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a reliable marker of lipid peroxidation, and paraoxonase is a known antioxidant enzyme. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between earthquake trauma, PTSD effects on oxidative stress and the levels of serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzyme activity, and levels of serum MDA.

Examining the levels of BDNF and cortisol in children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse--a preliminary study.

Background: Previous reports have suggested the biological and psychological effects of trauma induced by cortisol and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The present study compared the levels of BDNF, cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse to those without a trauma history.

Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Child Psychiatry at Dicle University.

BDNF and cortisol levels in children with or without post-traumatic stress disorder after sustaining sexual abuse.

Objective: There are studies reporting that cortisol and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) play a role in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, up-to-date no study evaluated the relationship between PTSD and the levels of cortisol and BDNF in children and adolescents who have sustained trauma. The aim of this study was to investigate whether BDNF, cortisol and adrenocorticotropine (ACTH) levels differ between individuals who developed PTSD or not following a sexual trauma.

Serum total oxidant and antioxidant status in earthquake survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Objective: Oxidative stress has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although there are some studies on oxidative stress and PTSD, there is no report available on the serum total oxidant and antioxidant status in earthquake survivors with PTSD. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the serum total oxidant and antioxidant status in earthquake survivors with chronic PTSD.

Effects of some of the regional Turkish fermented foods and medications on respiratory alcohol levels.

Background/aim: Alcohols are used in many areas like medicine and industry. They may be naturally found in some fruits and vegetables secondary to fermentation. According to the traffic law in Turkey, professional drivers are prohibited from driving while they are under the influence of alcohol; nonprofessional drivers are allowed to drive vehicles with a blood alcohol level of up to 50 mg/dL.

Carbon monoxide-related deaths in Ankara between 2001 and 2011.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology of unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings (between 2001 and 2011) in Ankara, Turkey.

Methods: Data were collected from the records of Ankara Branch of Council of Forensic Medicine and the licensed official institutes and hospitals for medico-legal autopsies. A total of 10,720 medico-legal autopsy reports were obtained and reviewed by the authors.

The review of autopsy cases of accidental childhood deaths in Istanbul.

Children are at increased risk for various causes of injury from accidents. Accidents are, by far, the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the lethal childhood accidents in İstanbul by age groups.

History of forensic medicine in Turkey.

Turkey has a short history of forensic medicine compared to the developed countries. Sultan Mahmud II established the first medical school of the Ottoman Empire named as Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Sahane to provide health services to the army in 1839 [Gok S. Tomorrow, today and yesterday of the forensic medicine.