Serum N-Desmethylcitalopram Concentrations are Associated with the Clinical Response to Citalopram of Patients with Major Depression.

Objective: Citalopram (CITA) is a widely used and well-tolerated selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible influences of serum concentrations of CITA and its major metabolite n-desmethylcitalopram (NDCITA) on the efficacy and tolerability of CITA in patients with major depressive disorder.

Methods: The study included 46 outpatients with major depressive disorder who received CITA.

ABCB1 C3435T polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to major depression, but not with a clinical response to citalopram in a Turkish population.

Background: The ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1 (ABCB1) gene, which encodes the p-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier, is investigated for patients' susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD) and their therapeutic response to antidepressants. However, there is an inconsistency between the studies of different ethnic groups. The current study aimed to determine the potential correlations of the ABCB1 gene C3435T polymorphism with the susceptibility to MDD and the therapeutic response to citalopram in a Turkish population.

Relationship of burnout with personality, alexithymia, and coping behaviors among physicians in a semiurban and rural area in Turkey.

This present study aimed to assess levels of burnout, to investigate the extent to which personal characteristics and coping behaviors are related to burnout, and to establish the predictors of burnout among physicians in a semiurban and rural area. A sample of 139 physicians was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Ways of Coping Inventory. The level of burnout was found to be moderately higher than those reported among urban physicians.

[Neuropsychological assessment in conversion disorder].

Objective: Conversion disorder is characterized by functional impairment in motor, sensory, or neurovegetative systems that cannot be explained by a general medical condition. Diagnostic systems emphasize the absence of an organic basis for the dysfunction observed in conversion disorder. Nevertheless, there is a growing body of data on the specific functional brain correlates of conversion symptoms, particularly those obtained via neuroimaging and neurophysiological assessment.

Association between 1603C>T polymorphism of DBH gene and bipolar disorder in a Turkish population.

Objectives: Dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH) is the enzyme responsible for the conversion of dopamine (DA) to norepinephrine (NE, noradrenaline) which is a key neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Bipolar disorder is a major psychiatric disorder. The present study was designed to explore the associations of polymorphisms of DBH gene in Turkish patients with bipolar disorder.