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Objective: Long term alcohol use results in varying degrees of deficits in cognitive functions. Although the neocortex, particularly the frontal lobe; limbic system and cerebellum are the brain reg...

WOS: 000390418700002 Objective: Schizophrenia involves white matter abnormalities that might have a central role in the pathophysiology. Abnormal brain connectivity especially in prefrontal and temporal heteromodal cortex has been suggested as the leading structural impairment in patients with schizophrenia. In this study we examined the relationship between potential white matter changes and clinical response, as well as associations with antipsychotic treatment follow-up. Methods: 18 first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients were recruited from the outpatient unit of the GATA (Gulhane Military Medical Academy) Haydarpasa Research and Training Hospital, between June 2009-February 2010. Fourteen patients with FES were recruited, and 16 healthy control subjects were recruited from the community. Diffusion tensor MRI (DT-MRI) was obtained from participants at baseline and after 4 weeks of standard antipsychotic treatment. A color-coded fractional anisotropy map for each 11 patient was extracted from the 4-week follow-up and the baseline splenium and genu FA measurements. According to Basser and others major eigenvector linear maps were transformed into the color-coded maps. Differences in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores between baseline and follow up were also evaluated. Results: In this study; in the FES patients, both genu FA (p=0.001) and the splenium FA (p=0.013) values were statistically significantly lower than the healthy control group. There were mild FA increases respectively genu and splenium (p=0.533, p=0.318) in the FES patients after the treatment. But the FA changes did not correlate with the changes in clinical symptoms. A negative, moderate, statistically significant correlation (Pearson's r=-0.569, p=0.034) was found between baseline splenium FA values and BPRS scores. The duration of illness prior to treatment was negatively, weak, statistically non-significantly correlated (r=-0.066; p=0.846) between baseline and follow-up splenium FA changes. Conclusions: The reduced mean Callosal FA (CFA) values might indicate myelination defects and problems in axonal transport. The existence of white matter changes even in first episode drug-naive schizophrenia patients supports the view that these problems occurs in earlier stages of development. Although the callosal FA changes did not correlate with symptom improvement or the dose of antipsychotic medication, there was a mild increase in follow-up FA measurements. These findings show that CC which is the main conduit of interhemispheric connection is affected distinctly in patients with schizophrenia. Further collaborative studies are needed to clarify the potential long-term effects of antipsychotics on white matter microstructure and also its reversibility.

Objective: Impulsivity is an important neurobiological process that contributes to individual differences in substance use disorder vulnerability. Uric acid has been mentioned to be telated to some...

Objective: Cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are associated with different symptom subtypes of schizophrenia. It has been suggested that cognitive functions in the paranoid type of schizophren...

4 OZET: ‹lac tedavisi almayan major depresif bozukluklu ergenlerde plasma noropeptid Y duzeyleri Amac: Neuropeptide Y (NPY), anksiyete ve depresyon pa- tofizyolojisinde onemli bir maddedir. NPY'nin emosyonel duzenlemeyi surdurmesi icin kortikotropin sal›n›m›n› sa¤- layan faktor (CRF) taraf›ndan arac›l›k edilen stres etkilerini giderdii ileri surulmufltur. Bu cal›flmada ilk kez depresyon tan›s› alan ergenlerde NPY duzeyleri, hastalar›n intihar giri- flimi oykuleri gozununde bulundurularak araflt›r›lm›flt›r. Yontem: Major depresif bozukluk (MDB) tan›l› 33 ergen ca- l›flmaya al›nd›. 11 hasta, baflka bir psikiyatrik hastal›¤›n var- l›¤› nedeniyle cal›flma d›fl›nda tutuldu. MDB tan›l› 22 ergen- de, NPY'nin plazma konsantrasyonlar› olculdu. Beck Dep- resyon Envanteri-Turkce uyarlamas› ve Beck Anksiyete En- vanteri-Turkce uyarlamas›, depresyon ve anksiyete duzey- lerini olcmek icin kullan›ld›. Bulgular: Depresyonlu ergenlerde sal›kl› kontrollere oranla anlaml› derecede dufluk NPY duzeyleri bulundu. Hastalar intihar giriflimi oykulerine gore s›n›fland›r›ld›¤›nda her iki grup aras›nda NPY duzeyleri ac›s›ndan anlaml› bir fark bulunmad›. NPY duzeyleri, hastal›¤›n suresiyle ve suc- luluk duygular› ile negatif yonde, anksiyeteyle pozitif yon- de korelasyon gosterdi. Aksiyete, bir efldeiflken olarak al›nd›¤› zaman, NPY ile sucluluk duygular› aras›ndaki kore- lasyonlar kayboluyor, hastal›¤›n suresi bir efldeiflken ola- rak al›nd›¤›nda aradaki korelasyon anlaml›l›¤›n› koruyordu. Tart›flma: Ergen depresif hastalar sal›kl› kontrollere oran- la daha dufluk NPY plazma duzeylerine sahipti. Plazma NPY duzeyleri, hastal›¤›n suresiyle azal›yor, sucluluk duygusu ve anksiyetenin fliddetiyle art›yordu. NPY'nin, ergenlerde go- rulen MDB'de anksiyete ile ilgili depresyona bir eilim icin belirleyici olduu ileri surulebilir. ABSTRACT: Plasma neuropeptide Y levels in medication naive adolescents with major depressive disorder Objective: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been implicated in pathophysiology of anxiety and depression. It was proposed that NPY counteracts corticotropin-releasing factor-mediated stress effects to maintain emotional regulation. We investigated NPY concentrations in a sample of first episode medication-naive adolescent patients with MDD with regards to their history of suicide attempts. Method: 33 adolescents with MDD were enrolled. 11 patients were excluded due to comorbidity of another psychiatric illness. In 22 adolescents with MDD patients, the plasma concentrations of NPY were assessed. The Beck Depression Inventory-Turkish Version and the Beck Anxiety Scale- Turkish Version were used to rate the severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results: Our sample of depressed patients showed lower levels of NPY compared to healthy controlsWhen the depressed patients were grouped with regards to suicidality, both groups did not show any significant differences. NPY levels were negatively correlated with duration of illness and feelings of guilt, and positively correlated with anxiety. When anxiety was taken as a covariate, significant correlations between NPY levels and feelings of guilt disappered; whereas, when duration of illness was taken as a covariate correlations were still significant. Conclusions: Adolescent depressed patients were found to have lower NPY plasma levels compared to healthy controls. Plasma NPY concentrations were decreasing with duration of illness, increasing with feelings of guilt and anxiety severity. Plasma NPY levels in adolescents MDD might indicate a predisposition to anxiety-related depression.