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Objectives:Psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depressive symptoms, psychotic symptoms, and mental retardation are much more common among patients with epilepsy (PWE) than the general population. This study aimed to evaluate psychiatric symptoms in patients with epilepsy.Methods:Symptom Checklist 90-R Revised (SCL-90-R) was given to all consecutive patients with epilepsy in outpatient Epilepsy Department. Participants completed the SCL-90-R questionnaire. One neurologist and one psychiatrist evaluated these forms. Subscales of somatization, obsessive-compulsive thoughts, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, psychoticism, paranoid ideation, and hostility were evaluated.Results:A total of 111 PWE and 92 sex- and age- matched control subjects were included. The mean age of the patient group was 34.05±10.90 years. Of the patients, 43 were male and 68 were female. Fourteen (12.61%) patients were diagnosed with mental retardation. Based on our results of mean SCL-90-R score for each item, somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism were significantly higher in the patient group than the control subjects.Conclusion:SCL-90-R is an easy test to evaluate psychiatric symptoms. It can be used for PWE to raise awareness of psychiatric symptoms. Once the clinicians become more aware of such symptoms, more accurate approach to the patients will be possible. In terms of follow-up of PWE, not only seizure frequency and severity but also other psychiatric symptoms are important.

Objectives:Epilepsy and headache are common paroxysmal neurological disorders. Headache can occasionally be the sole symptom of a seizure. In addition, postictal headaches frequently occur after complex partial and generalized tonic–clonic seizures. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of interictal headache in patients with epilepsy presenting at an outpatient epilepsy clinic.Methods:This prospective study included 86 adult patients who were diagnosed with epilepsy and followed up at a neurology clinic.Results:A total of 86 patients with epilepsy (54 females, 32 males) were included. The type of headache in 41 (47.6%) patients was a tensiontype headache (TTH) (n=14, 16.3%), migraine with aura (n=12, 13.9%), migraine without aura (n=11, 12.8%), TTH + stabbing headache (n=1, 1.2%), cluster headache (1.2%), and other primary headaches (n=2, 2.4%).Conclusion:Patients with epilepsy often have headaches, particularly a migraine headache. Headache in patients with epilepsy may be overlooked during follow-up in the outpatient clinic setting, and this can adversely affect the quality of life of these patients.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a serious problem, and its importance has increased in recent years. It is responsible for the death of 17% of epilepsy patients. As the age of onset rises, the risk increases. Patients with refractory epilepsy are particularly at risk. Likewise, male gender, early age of onset, polytherapy, nocturnal seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) are also among the risk factors. Respiratory, cardiac, autonomic and brain stem related pathologies are held to be responsible for its pathophysiology.

Objective: Restless Legs syndrome (RLS) is a frequent neurological disease. Levetiracetam (LEV) is an effective and broad-spectrum anticonvulsant drug. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of RLS in patients diagnosed with epilepsy who took LEV monotherapy. Materials and Methods: Two neurologists were reviewed the files of 1680 patients, who were followed in epilepsy outpatient clinic. One hundred seven patients under LEV monotherapy for at least six months and 120 healthy controls were included in the study. The criteria for the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group were taken into consideration for the assessment of RLS. Results: The mean age of patient group was 38.26±17.39 years, while the mean age of healthy controls was 39.17±16.12 years. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of age and sex between each two groups. The mean duration of LEV usage was 28.34 months. The LEV usage dose was between 500-3000 mg/day. RLS was seen in 7 (5.83%) healthy controls, whereas 4 patients (3.73%) had RLS in patient group before LEV treatment. The symptom of RLS in two patients disappeared after LEV treatment started and this rate decreased to 1.87%. The biochemical parameters were normal in all patient groups, after LEV treatment, peripheral neuropathy was detected in one patient whose symptoms were not relieved. Conclusion: LEV may have therapeutic effect on RLS. It may be preferred especially in comorbid situations where epilepsy and RLS are seen together. Longitudinal and prospective studies are needed to manifest better the therapeutic effects of LEV on RLS.

Summary Peri-ictal water drinking has been defined as the action of drinking during or within 2 minutes of a seizure. It can be seen in childhood or adulthood epilepsy. It is usually seen in adults with temporal lobe epilepsy. Peri-ictal water drinking is a rare vegetative symptom and has clinical significance in terms of being a lateralizing sign for the non-dominant hemisphere.

Objective: Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a disease commonly seen in the community, causing labor loss and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The aim of the study is to compare the symptoms of depression and anxiety with those of healthy controls in patients with OSAS and to investigate the relationship between OSAS severity with anxiety and depression. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and thirteen patients with OSAS who underwent polysomnographic examination and 116 healthy controls were included in the study. The patient group was classified as mild, moderate and severe OSAS. Beck Anxiety and Beck Depression Scales were administered to the patients and healthy controls. Results: There was a significant difference between the patient group and the control group in the mean scores of Beck Depression and Beck Anxiety Scales. The mean scores of depression of the OSAS group were 11.16±8.87 (mild depression); 6.85±6.15 of the control group (p0.05). Conclusion: In our study; although there was a significant difference between depression and anxiety mean scores in patient and control group; there was no significant difference in anxiety and depression mean scores among mild, moderate and severe OSAS patients. Patients with OSAS were found to have mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. In these patients, there was no correlation between AHI values and depression and anxiety scores.

Objectives:Demographic and clinical findings of patients with refractory epilepsy receiving treatment at the newly established epilepsy outpatient clinic of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Faculty of Medicine were evaluated.Methods:Records of patients treated at the epilepsy outpatient clinic between June 2014 and March 2016 were examined, and 60 patients with refractory epilepsy were included the study.Results:Mean age was 34.3 years. Of the total, 29 were men and 31 were women. Seizures of 50 patients were partial onset, while those of 3 were generalized. Fourteen patients had psychogenic seizures, and 1 patient was diagnosed with paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia. The electroencephalogram (EEG) recording of 20 patients was normal. Partial epileptiform abnormalities were present in 24 patients, and generalized epileptiform abnormalities were seen in 1 patient. Treatment was modified in 45 patients. Four patients were seizure-free, 13 showed more than 50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 9 patients had less than 50% fewer seizures. It is thought that 34 patients have pharmacoresistant seizures. The cause of uncontrolled seizures was misdiagnosis in 5 patients, improper drug in 3 patients, and insufficient treatment dose in 5 patients.Conclusion:Accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment with sufficient dose of drug selected according to type of seizure is important for patients with refractory epilepsy.

Objectives:The aim of the present study was to evaluate demographic and clinical findings of patients who underwent follow-up at the newly established epilepsy outpatient clinic of the Muğla University Faculty of Medicine.Methods:Included were 208 patients who underwent follow-up at the clinic between March 2014 and September 2015.Results:Mean age was 29.42±15.86, with a range of 5–84 years. Eighty-three patients were men (39.9%); 125 were women (60.1%). The most common risk factors included head trauma, febrile convulsion, and family history of epilepsy. Seizures of 155 patients (75.5%) were partialonset, those of 22 (10.6%) were generalized, and those of 9 (4.3%) were unclassified. Sixty-seven patients (37.2%) had normal electroencephalogram, 96 patients (53.3%) had partial, and 10 patients (5.6%) had generalized epileptiform abnormalities. Of the 172 patients (28.5%) to whom antiepileptic drugs had been administered, 49 were resistant to medical treatment. Of the patients with modified therapy, 22 (41.5%) were seizure-free, 7 (13.2%) experienced >50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 8 experienced

The relationship between hormones and epilepsy is very complex. Hormones affect epilepsy, while epilepsy affects hormones. In addition, antiepileptic drugs have effects on seizures and hormones. In patients with epilepsy, menstrual disorders, hypothalamic amenorrhea, polycystic ovary syndrome, premature menopause, decreased fertility, sperm motility disorder, decreased sexual desire, problems in ejaculation, and orgasmic difficulty are more common than in the normal population. In this article, the relationship between epilepsy and hormones is discussed.

Bu çalışmada ilköğretim sekizinci sınıf Türkçe ders kitaplarında yer alan metinlerin okunabilirlik düzeyleri incelenmiştir. Çalışmanın amacı, son zamanlarda çok yaygınlaşan okunabilirlik kavramının Türkçe öğretimi için kullanılan kitaplarda ne kadar uygulandığını ortaya çıkarmaktır. Çalışmada Türkçe ders kitaplarında yer alan metinlerin öğrencilerin okuma- anlama seviyelerine ne kadar uygun olduğunu belirlemek amaçlanmıştır. Metinlerin okunabilirliklerini belirlemek amaçlı Türkçe metinler için uyarlanmış olan iki okunabilirlik formülü kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada Türkiye’nin değişik illerinde okutulan iki adet 8. sınıf Türkçe ders kitabında yer alan bilgilendirici ve öyküleyici metinler incelenmiş şiirler çalışma kapsamına alınmamıştır. Yapılan çalışmanın sonucuna göre öyküleyici metinlerin okunabilirlik düzeylerinin öğrencilerin seviyelerine daha uygun olduğu görülmüştür.

Context: This was an investigation of inflammation markers on the prediction and prognosis of patients with sleep apnea. Aims: Clinical detection of inflammatory markers is useful to assess systemic inflammation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the lymphocyte-to-C-reactive protein (CRP) ratio (LCR) was a predictive marker in diagnosing and determining the severity of OSAS. Settings and Design: This was a retrospective clinical study. Subjects and Methods: One hundred and forty-one patients who had undergone polysomnography were included in the study. The sex, age, Apnea–Hypopnea Index (AHI), body mass index, and complete blood count parameters of the patients were recorded. AHI scores were used to classify the severity of OSAS. Statistical Analysis Used: Differences among the groups for each parameter were analyzed using Student's t-test and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey correction for normally distributed parameters and the Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test for nonnormally distributed parameters. The correlation between LCR, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, CRP, and AHI scores was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: First, the patients were divided into four groups according to their AHI results, as control group, mild, moderate, and severe OSAS groups. The median LCR levels were 2.57 (1.59, 3.51) in the control group, 1.28 (0.74, 3.27) in Group 2, 1.63 (0.86, 2.6) in Group 3, and 1.05 (0.62, 2.31) in Group 4. In the comparison of all patients with OSAS and the control group, the median LCR level was 1.27 (0.7, 2.74) in patients with OSAS and 2.57 (1.59, 3.51) in the control group (P = 0.002). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that LCR is an important marker for systemic inflammation in patients with OSAS. LCR may be a new predictive marker in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with OSAS.

Background Inhaled therapies are key components of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatments. Although the use of pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) accounts for