The relationship between maternal thyroid volume, TSH levels, and Healthy Eating Index scores in BMI-matched pregnant women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Objective: The aim is to investigate the relationship between thyroid volume measurement and healthy nutrition questionnaire scoring in pregnant women diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (HEG).

Methods: One hundred and fifty pregnant women with a BMI of 15-25 kg/m and between the ages of 17 and 42 who were diagnosed with HEG at 11-14 weeks of gestation were included in the study. Patients with a history of any disease, drug use, and previously diagnosed eating disorders were excluded.

Involvement of Neuroactive Steroids in Pain, Depression and Anxiety.

Comorbidity between major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety (generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder) and pain is a major complicating factor in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Although numerous neurotransmitters and/or neuromodulators may be involved, abnormalities in the GABAergic and glutamatergic systems seem to be a common factor in all these disorders. Neuroactive steroids (NASs) have been the object of considerable interest in this area in recent years since they appear to act predominantly on GABA-A and glutamate NMDA receptors.

Synaptosomal-associated protein 25 gene polymorphisms and antisocial personality disorder: association with temperament and psychopathy.

Objective: The molecular genetic of personality disorders has been investigated in several studies; however, the association of antisocial behaviours with synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25) gene polymorphisms has not. This association is of interest as SNAP25 gene polymorphism has been associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and personality.

Methods: We compared the distribution of DdeI and MnII polymorphisms in 91 young male offenders and in 38 sex-matched healthy control subjects.

Temperament traits and psychopathy in a group of patients with antisocial personality disorder.

Objective: The Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) have been used extensively in research of personality disorders; however, no previous study has investigated the relation between psychopathy factors and temperament and character traits in patients with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Our aim was to fill this gap in the literature.

Methods: The PCL-R Factor scores and the TCI temperament and character scores were evaluated in 68 men with ASPD and 65 healthy male controls.

Plasma orexin A, ghrelin, cholecystokinin, visfatin, leptin and agouti-related protein levels during 6-week olanzapine treatment in first-episode male patients with psychosis.

The objective of the study was to investigate the change of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid profile, leptin, ghrelin, orexin, visfatin, agouti-related protein, and cholecystokinin levels during 6 weeks of olanzapine treatment in newly diagnosed first-episode drug naive, young adult, nonobese male patients with psychosis. Twenty male participants who were all first-episode drug naive psychotic patients without prominent affective signs and symptoms and 22 healthy male controls of similar age were included. BMI, waist circumference, fasting glucose, and lipid profiles were measured, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores were obtained at baseline, during the second and sixth week of treatment, and the aforementioned neuropeptide levels were measured at baseline and during the sixth week of treatment.

Clinical characteristics of self-mutilating behavior in Turkish male subjects with antisocial personality disorder: relationship to psychopathy.

Aims: The aims of this study were to determine the characteristics of self-mutilation (SM) and examine the relationship between SM and psychopathy in male subjects with antisocial personality disorder (APD).

Methods: APD diagnosis was established by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Axis II Disorders. Subjects (N = 116) were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and a semi-structured self-mutilation questionnaire form.

Self-mutilating behavior in patients with dissociative disorders: the role of innate hypnotic capacity.

Background: Despite the fact that the assumption of a relationship between self-mutilation and dissociative disorders (DD) has a long history, there is little empirical evidence to support this premise. The present study examined this relationship and investigated whether this commonality is associated with innate hypnotic capacity.

Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with DD and 50 control subjects with major depression were assessed by using a self-mutilation questionnaire, Dissociative Experiences Scale, Traumatic Experiences Checklist, and the Eye-Roll Sign for their self-mutilating behaviors, dissociative symptoms, early trauma, and innate hypnotic capacity, respectively.

Lack of association between DRD3 gene polymorphism and response to clozapine in Turkish schizoprenia patients.

It is hypothesized that molecular components of dopaminergic system, especially the dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3), may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, because it is abundant in the limbic system of the brain and it binds antipsychotic drugs. Several groups attempted to find an association between a serine-to-glycine polymorphism of the DRD3 gene (Ser9Gly) and schizophrenia; however, the results were inconsistent. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship of the Serine/Glycine polymorphism of the DRD3 gene with therapeutic response to clozapine treatment between Turkish schizophrenia patients (N = 92) and healthy controls (N = 100).

A magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of antisocial behaviour disorder, psychopathy and violent crime among military conscripts.

Background: Prefrontal and/or temporo-limbic abnormalities associated with antisocial personality disorder (APD), high psychopathy scores and violent behaviours can readily be evaluated by neuroimaging methods.

Objectives: In this study, we compared the brain metabolites in adult male military conscripts with APD, high psychopathy scores and serious violent crimes (n = 15) with age- and educational-level-matched healthy controls (n = 15) by means of magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Methods: All cases were diagnosed by means of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV APD module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM III-R Axis II Disorders (SCID-II) semistructured questionnaire in Turkish.

A case with euprolactinemic galactorrhea induced by escitalopram.

Endocrine and reproductive side effects of serotonergic antidepressants are uncommon and galactorrhea is only rarely mentioned among SSRI-related side effects. Perhaps through suppression of dopamine neurotransmission releasing prolactin from tonic inhibitor control of dopamine, serotonin-enhancing antidepressants may result in a rise in prolactin levels. However, we here describe a case of euprolactinemic galactorrhea induced by the SSRI escitalopram and discuss potential mechanisms of action.

Nightmare disorder, dream anxiety, and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder.

Aims: The aims of the present study were to examine the rate of nightmare disorder (ND) and to determine the levels of dream anxiety and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Another aim was to determine whether dream anxiety was associated with childhood trauma, dissociative experiences, and subjective sleep disturbance in BPD patients. Finally, the hypothesis as to whether BPD patients with ND exhibited a more severe clinical profile than those without ND, was also tested.

Body dysmorphic disorder in patients with borderline personality disorder: prevalence, clinical characteristics, and role of childhood trauma.

Objective: The prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) is unidentified. We hypothesised that BDD would be more common than realised in patients with BPD and comorbidity with BDD would result in a more severe clinical profile. Also, childhood trauma may play a predictive role in this association.

Clinical predictors of therapeutic response to clozapine in a sample of Turkish patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that clozapine is more effective than both first- and second-generation antipsychotic drugs in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, clinicians appear to be hesitant to prescribe this drug. It would therefore be extremely valuable if predictors of response to clozapine could be identified.

[Comparison of right thalamus and temporal cortex metabolite levels of drug-naive first-episode psychotic and chronic schizophrenia in patients].

Objective: The aim of this study was to use Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) to investigate whether patients with chronic schizophrenia have different brain metabolite levels in the temporal cortex and thalamus than drug-naive first-episode patients.

Method: We compared right-handed male first-episode patients (n=13) and chronic schizophrenic cases (n=15) with gender- and handedness-matched controls (n=10). Right temporal and right thalamic N-Acetylaspartate (NAA)/Creatine (Cre), NAA/Choline (Cho), and Cho/Cre ratios were obtained with MRS.

Leptospirosis presenting with mania and psychosis: four consecutive cases seen in a military hospital in Turkey.

Objective: To present the clinical features and the treatment alternatives of manic and psychotic symptoms in patients with leptospirosis.

Methods: Clinical observation and diagnosis of four cases with leptospirosis presenting with psychiatric symptoms.

Results: Leptospirosis diagnoses were established by recovery of the organism from culture, macroagglutination tests, and dark field microscopy in all cases.

Identification and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in rescue workers in the Marmara, Turkey, earthquake.

After the 1999 Marmara Turkey earthquake, 434 volunteer rescue workers and 154 soldiers who were control subjects completed the Questionnaire for Identification with Deceased Victims and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Identification with the Deceased as Oneself, Identification with the Deceased as a Friend, Identification with the Deceased as a Family Member, and IES-R Intrusion, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal subscale scores were significantly higher in rescue workers. Identification-Self, Identification-Friend, and Identification-Family correlated with the IES-R subscale and total scores.

Panic disorder due to ingestion of single dose ecstasy.

Ecstasy or MDMA (3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a popularly consumed substance worldwide. There have been various reports documented in the literature that have attributed MDMA to precipitating the onset of a wide range of persistent psychiatric symptoms. Additionally, there is increasing evidence of a permanent injury to the serotonergic neurons.

Body dysmorphic disorder in patients with acne.

There is growing evidence that the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is significantly higher in specially selected populations as compared to the general population. The goal of the current study was to evaluate prevalence of BDD in Turkish patients with mild acne presenting to a dermatologist for treatment. This study was the first empirical investigation of BDD in acne patients in Turkey.

Value of regional cerebral blood flow in the evaluation of chronic liver disease and subclinical hepatic encephalopathy.

Aims: Regional changes in cerebral blood flow in patients with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and subclinical hepatic encephalopathy were investigated in the present study using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Methods: Twenty patients with cirrhosis, 11 patients with chronic hepatitis, and nine healthy controls were included in the study. Cerebral SPECT were obtained for all patients.

[Factors affecting the satisfaction of recruits with the military environment].

Objective: Life satisfaction is one of the global indicators of adjustment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles of individual and familial characteristics, and attitudes towards military service of new recruits in terms of their satisfaction with the fundamental principles of military service and daily military lifestyle and environment.

Methods: The study was conducted among 214 soldiers recruited one month previously in an orientation camp for privates located in an Istanbul military center.