Publications by authors named "Ulku Cakir"
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common psychiatric disorder defined by the presence of obsessive thoughts and repetitive compulsive actions. The mutations or polymorphic variants in mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes or nuclear genes result in oxidative stress, which has recently been associated with various psychiatric disorders. In order to understand the association of mitochondrial disorders with oxidative stress in obsessive compulsive disorder, we examined genetic variants of manganese superoxide dismutase and uncouple-2 antioxidant genes and malondialdehyde and glutathione, markers of oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Family, twin and adoption studies have provided major evidence for the role of genetics in numerous psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorders (BDs). As SZ and BD have some susceptibility genes in common and since unaffected first-degree relatives of these patients carry a high likelihood of these susceptibility genes, we aimed to elucidate the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genetic variants in patients with SZ, BD and their first-degree relatives.
Methods: The study sample comprised 239 patients with SZ, 184 patients with BD, 284 unaffected first-degree biological relatives of patients with SZ and 301 unaffected first-degree biological relatives of patients with BD and 210 healthy controls.
Background: Oxidative stress and free radical-induced toxicity have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. In this study, we examined paraoxonase (PON1)-55/192 polymorphisms and PON1 activity in patients with schizophrenia, first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients, and healthy controls.
Methods: This study consisted of 292 healthy participants, 267 unrelated patients with schizophrenia and 311 first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients.