Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios and systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: Low-grade systemic inflammation has been reported in many psychiatric diseases and is described as a non-severe state of the inflammatory response. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by symptoms of avoidance, re-experiencing and hyperarousal that develop secondary to a serious traumatic event. The trauma itself creates psychological and biological changes in the individual, apart from PTSD.

Factors associated with substance use among preclinical medical students in Turkey: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Medical students experience high levels of stress due to their rigorous training, which can negatively affect their mental health. This study aimed to investigate substance use habits of medical students at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa and the association on their mental health and demographic factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in March-April 2022 among preclinical medical students (years 1-3 of a 6-year program).

Psychophysical assessment of koniocellular pathway in patients with schizophrenia versus healthy controls.

This study was designed to perform psychophysical assessment of koniocellular pathway in patients with schizophrenia versus healthy controls. A total of 26 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls were included. Snellen Visual Acuity Chart scores and Short Wavelength Automated Perimetry (SWAP) visual field testing including global visual field indices [mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD), test time (min)], reliability parameters [false negative responses (%), false positive responses (%) and fixed losses (%)] and average threshold sensitivity [central (parafovea), peripheral area, and four quadrants] were recorded in both groups.

Explanatory Models of Illness, Help Seeking Behaviours and Related Factors in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study from Two Different Provinces of Turkey.

This study aims to identify the help seeking behaviours of patients from two geographically distinct provinces of Turkey. A questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and help seeking ways was applied to 49 schizophrenia patients from Van, 99 from Ankara. The ratio of patients seeking psychiatric help at the beginning of their illness was 76% in Ankara, the capital city, in contrast to 54% in Van (p = 0.

Correlates of injection drug use among individuals admitted to public and private drug treatment facilities in Turkey.

Background: The number of individuals seeking treatment for drug use has been increasing in recent years in Turkey. However, existing research on patterns and risk factors for drug use and how they vary by age and location in Turkey is limited.

Methods: We examined the socio-demographic characteristics, drug use behaviors, and treatment history of citizens admitted to inpatient substance use treatment at public and private facilities in Turkey during 2012 and 2013 and identified correlates of lifetime and current injection drug use.

Substance use is a risk factor for violent behavior in male patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: To determine the factors involved in violent behavior in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and to investigate the relationship between violence and substance use disorder (SUD).

Methods: A sample of 100 male inpatients diagnosed with BD type I who were experiencing a current mood episode participated in the study. Violent behavior was defined as physical aggression against others.

Reliability and Validity Study of the Turkish Version of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to perform reliability and validity analyses of the Turkish version of the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale which is used to determine the severity of opiate withdrawal.

Methods: Initially, the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) was translated into Turkish and subsequently back-translated into English. The originality of the back-translated version was approved by the author who developed the scale.

Motivation for treatment in patients with substance use disorder: personal volunteering versus legal/familial enforcement.

Background: Motivation for treatment on the part of patients with addictive disorders is known to affect their prognosis, and lack thereof is reported to be among the most common reasons for failed treatment adherence and relapse after treatment. This study evaluated the relationship between volunteering, personality, demographic factors, and motivation for treatment.

Methods: The study was conducted at a substance dependence center in the eastern part of Turkey.

Is there any role of Toxoplasma gondii in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common psychiatric illness. Although the aetiology of OCD is still unknown, the family-genetic data show that familial forms of OCD may be associated with a specific genetic susceptibility. Recent investigations have associated development of OCD with infectious illness.