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Background A low-grade inflammation is presumed to be related to the etiopathogenesis of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily members have roles in the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders because of the relationship with inflammation and neurogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) levels in patients with bipolar depression (BD), MDD and a healthy control (HC) group to determine any differences between MDD and BD in terms of inflammation biomarkers. Subjects and methods After a 12-hour overnight fast, 5 milliliter (mL) samples of fasting blood were obtained from the participants. The TWEAK and TRAIL plasma levels were calculated using ELISA kits. Results The TWEAK levels were found to be higher in the BD group than in the HC group (p=0.03). No statistically significant differences were determined between the BD vs MDD and MDD vs HC groups (p=0.17, p=0.37, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences between the three groups (BD vs HC; BD vs MDD; MDD vs HC) in terms of TRAIL levels (p=0.21). Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to have explored TWEAK levels in patients with BD. The higher TWEAK levels in BD than in the control group is compatible with the inflammation hypothesis of BD. Limitations of the study were the differences in medications of the patient groups and that it was a cross-sectional study. There is a need for further longitudinal studies with larger sample size and medication-free patients.

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the effect of physical activity and metabolic parameters on irisin levels in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Methods Ninety-six patients with schizophrenia and 63 healthy controls comprised the study population. The participants were separated into three groups: inactive, low activity, and sufficiently active according to International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF). We measured irisin levels using Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. We also calculated exercise levels by using the IPAQ-SF for each individual. The independent samples ttest was used in the data analysis to compare irisin levels according to the activity levels of the patients with schizophrenia and controls. Results The levels of irisin were higher in the healthy controls (p < 0.001) compared to schizophrenia groups. When the activity levels of the schizophrenia and healthy control groups were compared, the irisin levels of the low activity and sufficiently active groups with schizophrenia were found to be lower than those of the low activity and sufficiently active groups in the healthy controls (respectively p = 0.014; p < 0.001). Conclusion Irisin levels could be affected by physical activity and these results must be supported with new studies.

Deep learning (DL) algorithms have achieved important successes in data analysis tasks, thanks to their capability of revealing complex patterns in data. With the advance of new sensors, data storage, and processing hardware, DL algorithms start dominating various fields including neuropsychiatry. There are many types of DL algorithms for different data types from survey data to functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Because of limitations in diagnosing, estimating prognosis and treatment response of neuropsychiatric disorders; DL algorithms are becoming promising approaches. In this review, we aim to summarize the most common DL algorithms and their applications in neuropsychiatry and also provide an overview to guide the researchers in choosing the proper DL architecture for their research.

Previously, we established an estimated exposome score for schizophrenia (ES-SCZ) as a cumulative measure of environmental liability for schizophrenia to use in gene–environment interaction studies and for risk stratification in population cohorts. Hereby, we examined the discriminative function of ES-SCZ for identifying individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder in the general population by measuring the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Furthermore, we compared this ES-SCZ method to an environmental sum score (Esum-SCZ) and an aggregate environmental score weighted by the meta-analytical estimates (Emet-SCZ). We also estimated ORs and Nagelkerke’s R2 for ES-SCZ in association with psychiatric diagnoses and other medical outcomes. ES-SCZ showed a good discriminative function (AUC = 0.84) and statistically significantly performed better than both Esum-SCZ (AUC = 0.80) and Emet-SCZ (AUC = 0.80). At optimal cut point, ES-SCZ showed similar performance in ruling out (LR− = 0.20) and ruling in (LR+ = 3.86) schizophrenia. ES-SCZ at optimal cut point showed also a progressively greater magnitude of association with increasing psychosis risk strata. Among all clinical outcomes, ES-SCZ was associated with schizophrenia diagnosis with the highest OR (2.76, P < .001) and greatest explained variance (R2 = 14.03%), followed by bipolar disorder (OR = 2.61, P < .001, R2 = 13.01%) and suicide plan (OR = 2.44, P < .001, R2 = 12.44%). Our findings from an epidemiologically representative general population cohort demonstrate that an aggregate environmental exposure score for schizophrenia constructed using a predictive modeling approach—ES-SCZ—has the potential to improve risk prediction and stratification for research purposes and may help gain insight into the multicausal etiology of psychopathology.

Background and objective The current article explored the possibility of using daily internet use time as an indicator for problematic internet use (PIU) among college/ university students based on observations from a multi-centric, multi-country study conducted across eight different countries. Additionally, the current article explored whether daily night time sleep and physical activity can serve as possible indicators of PIU. Methods The present article presents the findings from analysis of information collected from 2643 college/university students from eight countries. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to compare the predictive performance of three different indicator variables in the study participants to determine PIU. Results The AUC for daily internet use time was 0.64 (95 % CI: 0.62 to 0.656), which was higher than the AUC for weekly physical activity (0.599; 95 % CI: 0.580 to 0.618) and daily night time sleep (0.563; 95 % CI: 0.544 to 0.582). The AUC for three indicator variables was compared, which showed that the AUC for daily internet time was significantly higher than the AUC for daily night-time sleep. Conclusions The assessment of daily internet use time as part of a larger battery of general health-related questions could be applied periodically among young students for screening of PIU in addition to a host of other important mental and physical health related conditions and behaviors. However, further studies are needed to determine optimal cut-off depending upon the desired trade-off between sensitivity and specificity for screening among different populations.

Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on health workers' health concerns and life.Methods: The study included 293 healthcare professionals reached via e-mail. A questionnaire created by researchers and health anxiety inventory were applied online to all participants. The questionnaire questions investigated the sociodemographic characteristics of the participant, whether he received psychological support during the COVID-19 outbreak, whether he had a chronic disease, whether he had problems with the care of his children, whether he was actively involved in the COVID clinic / service, and how his social and work life was affected.Results: Participants consisted of 73 doctors, 145 nurses and 75 other healthcare professionals (OHP). It was determined that the COVID-19 test was performed to the healthcare personnel in the risk group at a very low rate (1.4%). The number of people receiving psychiatric support during the COVID-19 outbreak was 59 (20.1%). It was determined that the COVID-19 outbreak affected business life and social life of healthcare professionals very much and significantly (p, Amaç: Bu araştırma ile COVID-19 salgınının sağlık çalışanlarının sağlık kaygıları ve yaşamları üzerine etkilerini belirlemeyi amaçladık.Yöntem: Araştırmaya, e-mail yoluyla ulaşılan 293 sağlık çalışanı dahil edildi. Tüm katılımcılara araştırmacılar tarafından oluşturulmuş bir anket ve devamında sağlık kaygısı envanteri online olarak uygulandı. Anket soruları ile katılımcının sosyodemografik özellikleri, COVID-19 salgını süresince ruhsal destek alıp almadığı, kronik hastalığı olup olmadığı, çocuklarının bakımıyla ilgili sorun yaşayıp yaşamadığı, COVID polikliniğinde/servisinde aktif görev alıp olmadığı, sosyal ve iş yaşantısının nasıl etkilendiği araştırıldı.Bulgular: Katılımcıların 73‘ü (24.9%) doktor, 145’i hemşire ve 75’i (25.6%) diğer sağlık personelinden oluşmaktadır. Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 35.22±8.51 ve çalışma süresi ortancası 10 (0.0-43.0) yıldır. Risk grubunda yer alan sağlık personeline COVID-19 testinin çok az oranda (1.4%) yapıldığı saptanmıştır. COVID-19 salgını sürecinde psikiyatrik destek alanların sayısı 59 (20.1%)’dur. Katılımcılardan 99’u (33.9%) COVID-19 salgını sürecinde çocuk bakımında problem yaşadığını belirtmiştir. COVID-19 salgınının sağlık profesyonellerinin iş ve sosyal yaşamını önemli ölçüde etkilediği saptanmıştır (p

Objective: Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder are complex phenotypes. There appear to be phenotypical, mechanistic, and therapeutic differences between bipolar depression (BD) and unipolar depression (UD). There is a need for understanding the underlying biological variation between these clinical entities. The role of oxidative processes underlying bipolar disorder and depression has been demonstrated. Thiol-disulfide homeostasis (TDH) is a recent oxidative stress marker. In this study, we aimed to inspect patients with bipolar depression and unipolar depression in terms of thiol-disulfide balance and to compare them with healthy controls.Methods: Patients admitted to the outpatient clinic of Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital and diagnosed either as a depressive episode with bipolar disorder (n = 37) or unipolar depression (n = 24) according to DSM-5 criteria, along with healthy controls (HC) (n = 50), were included in the study. Native thiol, total thiol, and disulfide levels were compared across the groups.Results: In comparison to HC, both BD and UD groups had higher disulfide levels, disulfide/native thiol ratio, and disulfide/total thiol ratio. No significant differences between BD and UD were detected in terms of disulfide level, disulfide/native thiol ratio, and disulfide/total thiol ratio.Conclusion: Increased levels of disulfide, native thiol, and disulfide/total thiol ratios compared to healthy controls in both UD and BD groups may be indicative of the presence of oxidative damage in these two clinical conditions. To clarify the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of depressive disorders and investigate TDH, longitudinal studies in patients with medication-free UD and BD are required.

Amaç: Bu araştırmanın amacı, yatarak tedavi gören erkek alkol bağımlılarında tedavi motivasyonu, bağımlılık özellikleri, aşerme ve mizaç özellikleri arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir.Gereç ve Yöntem: Ankara Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Alkol-Madde Araştırma, Tedavi ve Eğitim Merkezi’nde (AMATEM) yatarak tedavi gören DSM-IV-TR’ye göre alkol bağımlılığı tanısı almış erkek hastalar çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Hastalar, sosyodemografik veri formunun yanı sıra, Penn Alkol Aşerme Ölçeği (PAAÖ), Bağımlılık Profil İndeksi (BAPİ), Değişime Hazır Olma ve Tedavi İsteği Ölçeği (SOCRATES), Memphis, Pisa, Paris ve San Diego - Self Mizaç Değerlendirme Ölçeği (TEMPS-A) kullanılarak değerlendirildi.Bulgular: Çalışmaya 85 erkek hasta dahil edildi. Çalışma kapsamındaki hastaların ortalama yaşı 46.36 ± 9.66’ydı. Katılımcıların ortalama alkol kullanma süreleri ise 23.32 ± 10.33 yıldı. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre BAPİ toplam puanı ve PAÖÖ toplam puanı arasında pozitif korelasyon hesaplanmıştır.Sonuç: Bağımlılık şiddetinin artmasıyla aşerme şiddetinin artması bağımlılık şiddeti yüksek olan hastalarda aşerme konusunda daha dikkatli olmak gerektiğini düşündürebilir. Baskın mizaç özelliğine sahip olup olmamanın aşerme, motivasyon ve bağımlılık şiddeti ile olan ilişkisi çalışmamızda saptanmamıştır., Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the treatment motivation, addiction characteristics, craving and temperament traits in male patients with alcohol addiction having inpatient treatment.Materials and Methods: Male patients diagnosed with alcohol addiction according to DSM-IV-TR having inpatient treatment at Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment and Training Center (AMATEM) were included in the study. The patients were evaluated by sociodemographic data form, Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), Addiction Profile Index (API), The Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES), Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A).Results: 85 male patients were included in the study. The mean age of the participants was 46.36 ± 9.66. The mean of the years of using alcohol was 23.32 ± 10.33. A positive correlation was found between API total score and PACS total score according to the study. Conclusion: Increasing craving severity aligned with increasing addiction severity may suggest that patients with high addiction severity should be given more care in terms of craving. The relationship between having a dominant temperament and craving, motivation and severity of addiction could not be determined in our study.

BackgroundThe aim of the current study was to explore the effect of gender, age at onset, and duration on the long-term course of schizophrenia.MethodsTwenty-nine centers from 25 countries representing all continents participated in the study that included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.87 years with a DSM-IV or DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia; the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale as well as relevant clinicodemographic data were gathered. Analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were used, and the methodology corrected for the presence of potentially confounding effects.ResultsThere was a 3-year later age at onset for females (P P P P = .001). No significant effects were found concerning duration of illness.DiscussionOur results confirmed a later onset and a possibly more benign course and outcome in females. Age at onset manifested a single peak in both genders, and surprisingly, earlier onset was related to a slower progression of the illness. No effect of duration has been detected. These results are partially in accord with the literature, but they also differ as a consequence of the different starting point of our methodology (a novel staging model), which in our opinion precluded the impact of confounding effects. Future research should focus on the therapeutic policy and implications of these results in more representative samples.

BackgroundEvidence suggests that environmental factors not only increase psychosis liability but also influence the prognosis and outcomes of psychotic disorders. We investigated temporal and cross-sectional associations of a weighted score of cumulative environmental liability for schizophrenia – the exposome score for schizophrenia (ES-SCZ) – with functioning in first-episode psychosis (FEP).MethodsData were derived from the baseline and 1-month assessments of the Athens FEP Research Study that enrolled 225 individuals with FEP. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP) were used to measure social, occupational, and psychological functioning. The ES-SCZ was calculated based on the previously validated method.ResultsES-SCZ was associated with the total scores of GAF and PSP at baseline and 1-month assessments. These findings remained significant when accounting for several associated alternative explanatory variables, including other environmental factors (obstetric complications, migration, ethnic minority), clinical characteristics (duration of untreated psychosis, symptom severity, previous antipsychotic use), and family history of psychosis, demonstrating that the association between ES-SCZ and functioning is over and above other risk factors and cannot be explained by symptom severity alone. Functioning improved from baseline to 1-month assessment, but no significant ES-SCZ-by-time interaction was found on functioning, indicating that functioning changes were not contingent on ES-SCZ.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that rather than a predictor of functional improvement, ES-SCZ represents a stable severity indicator that captures poor functioning in early psychosis. Environmental risk loading for schizophrenia (ES-SCZ) can be beneficial for clinical characterization and incorporated into transdiagnostic staging models.

OBJECTIVE: Opioid addiction is a disease that is increasing in our country, Turkey, and around the world, which it is difficult to treat in medical, social, and economic terms. Pregabalin is a preparation used for the treatment of epilepsy, neuropathic pain, and anxiety disorders. In opioid users, pregabalin is increasingly being self-administered off-label due to its euphoria effect at high doses. We investigated the effects of pregabalin on addiction profile and opioid withdrawal severity by comparing patients with opioid addiction who were and were not using off-label pregabalin. METHODS: Between July and August 2016, a total of 120 patients (60 patients were pregabalin users and 60 patients were non-users) who presented to Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital Psychiatry Clinic Alcohol and Substance Addiction Treatment Center and were diagnosed with opioid use disorder according to the DSM-5, were included in the study. Patients who were using other substances were excluded from the study. A sociodemographic data form, the Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale, and Addiction Profile Index (API) were applied to the patients. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between pregabalin users and pregabalin non-users in terms of age, sex, age of onset, working status, and whether previous treatment had been received. In the pregabalin user group, the severity of opioid withdrawal, API substance use characteristics, diagnosis, effects on life, craving, motivation subscale scores, and API total score were found to be significantly higher than in the non-user group. CONCLUSION: Off-label pregabalin use among patients with opioid addiction is becoming more common. Off-label, high-dose pregabalin use may worsen existing opioid addiction, create a new area of ⁣⁣addiction, and an illegal market. Highlights We aimed to investigate the effects of pregabalin on addiction profile and opioid withdrawal severity by comparing patients with opioid addiction who were and were not using off-label pregabalin. In the pregabalin user group, the severity of opioid withdrawal, and API total score were found to be significantly higher than in the non-user group. The use of off-label, high-dose pregabalin may worsen existing opioid addiction.

OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia is a neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorder. For this reason, it is important to determine the level of markers that are neuroprotective and have been altered in other neurodegenerative diseases in inspecting the etiology of schizophrenia. Secretagogin (SCGN), is a member of Calcium (Ca) binding proteins and thought to have a neuroprotective effect. In this study, we aimed to compare the level of secretagogin (SCGN) between age and gender-matched schizophrenia and control group. METHODS: Fifty-three patients with schizophrenia who applied to outpatient clinics of our hospital and 37 healthy controls included in the study. Schizophrenia diagnoses of the patients were verified using the DSM-5 criteria. Serum secretagogin levels were measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of the patient group was measured. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the controls and patients in terms of fasting blood glucose and insulin levels. We did not find any difference in terms of the levels of serum secretagogin between patients with schizophrenia and controls. Negative correlations were found between the level of secretagogin and PANSS positive score, PANSS negative score, PANSS general psychopathology score. CONCLUSION: There is increasing evidence that SCGN may play a role in central nervous system (CNS) activity. Future studies might help to explicitly present the relationship between secretagogin and schizophrenia.

Objective: Mood stabilizers and antipsychotic drugs are known to have adverse effects on sexual function. However, patients often refrain from speaking about sexual complaints that may cause dose reduction and discontinuation of the drug without medical supervision. In this study we aimed to evaluate sexual functions of patients with bipolar disorder in remission period, considering prolactin levels and medications. Method: We recruited 52 patients with bipolar disorder in remission according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Prolactin levels were measured in all patients. The Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) was used to assess sexual dysfunction. Results: Mean prolactin levels were 24.71 ± 4.25 and 19.96 ± 5.52 ng/ml respectively for females and males. Patients taking mood stabilizer (MS) and mood stabilizer plus antipsychotic (AP) treatment had different prolactin levels (p

Objectives: Violence by patients against health care professionals has been widely described. Although psychiatric trainees are particularly exposed, little is known about the extent, context, and impact of violence toward them in Europe. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed between June 2018 and December 2019 among European psychiatric trainees through professional networks, using a snowball approach. The questionnaire asked about experiences of verbal abuse and physical and sexual assaults, as well as their context and impact. Descriptive analyses of the obtained data were conducted. Results: The survey was completed by 827 trainees from 39 countries (68.4% females). Most (83.6%) reported having been abused/assaulted at least once (of these, 92% verbally, 44.1% physically, and 9.3% sexually). Emergency rooms and inpatient units were the most frequent settings. Psychological impact of these events was commonly reported. Most respondents did not report abuses and assaults to their supervisors. They also described a lack of training for staff and aggression management plans at their institutions or of being unaware of their existence. Conclusions: Violence from patients is reported by many psychiatric trainees across countries in Europe, with very frequent verbal abuse and worrisome figures of physical and sexual assaults. Particularly concerning are the low proportion of trainees reporting to authorities, the lack of staff training and management protocols, and trainees’ lack of awareness about those resources. Despite the study limitation of a small response rate, these results support a call for urgent efforts to address this problem in Europe, and possibly beyond.

European Community's Seventh Framework Program, European Commission [HEALTH-F2-2009-241909]; Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, 2219 International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (SAM16PE07CP1, PI16/02012, and PI19/024)..., Erzin, G., Pries, L.-K., van Os, J., Fusar-Poli, L., Delespaul, P., Kenis, G., Luykx, J.J., Lin, B.D., Richards, A.L., Akdede, B., Binbay, T., Altınyazar, V., Yalınçetin, B., Gümüş-Akay, G., Cihan, B., Soygür, H., Ulaş, H., Cankurtaran, E.Ş., Kaymak, S.U., Mihaljevic, M.M., Andric-Petrovic, S., Mirjanic, T., Bernardo, M., Mezquida, G., Amoretti, S., Bobes, J., Saiz, P.A., García-Portilla, M.P., Sanjuan, J., Aguilar, E.J., Santos, J.L., Jiménez-López, E., Arrojo, M., Carracedo, A., López, G., González-Peñas, J., Parellada, M., Maric, N.P., Atbaşoğlu, C., Ucok, A., Alptekin, K., Saka, M.C., Arango, C., O'Donovan, M.C., Rutten, B.P.F., Guloksuz, S., Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) investigators

Introduction: There are few published empirical data on the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, and until now, there is no large international study. ----- Material and methods: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online questionnaire gathered data from 55,589 participants from 40 countries (64.85% females aged 35.80 ± 13.61; 34.05% males aged 34.90±13.29 and 1.10% other aged 31.64±13.15). Distress and probable depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm respectively. ----- Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. ----- Results: Probable depression was detected in 17.80% and distress in 16.71%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (31.82% vs. 13.07%). At least half of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop depression was associated with history of Bipolar disorder and self-harm/attempts (RR = 5.88). Suicidality was not increased in persons without a history of any mental disorder. Based on these results a model was developed. ----- Conclusions: The final model revealed multiple vulnerabilities and an interplay leading from simple anxiety to probable depression and suicidality through distress. This could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. Future research and interventions should specifically focus on them.

The aim of this review was to discuss early intervention options for clinical high-risk states of psychosis, the limitations of the high-risk concept, and the importance of population-based approaches in preventing psychosis. Interventions for individuals at high risk of psychosis can be classified into two main categories: pharmacological and non-pharmacological. When selecting any of these intervention options, it should be taken into account that only a small proportion of individuals in the high-risk group will have a transition to clinical psychosis. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid aggressive interventions. Pharmacotherapies, particularly antipsychotics, are generally not considered as a treatment of choice for individuals at high risk of psychosis due to their potential side-effect profiles, whereas cognitive behavioral therapies and family-oriented therapies are the leading alternatives with virtually no side effects. However, meta-analyses have shown that none of the interventions are specifically more effective than needs-based treatment (including placebo) in preventing transition to psychosis. These interventions might not be effective in preventing transition to psychosis; however, they may improve the outcomes of psychosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that the targeted prevention approaches focusing on the clinical high risk of psychosis concept have major limitations in terms of the impact on reducing psychosis incidence in the general population compared to the population-based approaches. Recently, psychosis-focused prevention approaches have been replaced by easily accessible youth mental health centers that provide services for transdiagnostic conditions. Future studies on the efficacy of these community-based youth mental health services may provide guidance on how to prevent psychosis.

The EUGEI project was supported by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement No. HEALTH-F2- 2009-241909 (Project EU-GEI). Dr. Arango was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation; Instituto de Salud Carlos III (SAM16-PE07CP1, PI16/02012, PI19/024); CIBERSAM (...), Fusar-Poli, L; Pries, LK; van Os, J; Erzin, G; Delespaul, P; Kenis, G; Luykx, JJ; Lin, BCD; Richards, AL; Akdede, B; Binbay, T; Altinyazar, V; Yalincetin, B; Gumus-Akay, G; Cihan, B; Soygur, H; Ulas, H; Cankurtaran, ES; Kaymak, SU; Mihaljevic, MM; Andric-Petrovic, S; Mirjanic, T; Bernardo, M; Mezquida, G; Amoretti, S; Bobes, J; Saiz, PA; Garcia-Portilla, MP; Sanjuan, J; Aguilar, EJ; Santos, JL; Jimenez-Lopez, E; Arrojo, M; Carracedo, A; Lopez, G; Gonzalez-Penas, J; Parellada, M; Maric, NP; Atbasoglu, C; Ucok, A; Alptekin, K; Saka, MC; Aguglia, E; Arango, C; O'Donovan, M; Rutten, BPF; Guloksuz, S

Many hypotheses have been proposed for the development of schizophrenia, including the one proposing that exogenous and endogenous factors are linked to inflammatory processes. There is strong evidence about the immunological and inflammatory dysfunction in schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to measure serum 15-deoxy-delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J (15d-PGJ), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPAR gamma), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Forty-four patients and 39 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Serum PGE2, 15d-PGJ, PPAR gamma and CRP levels were measured in both the groups. Demographic data forms were filled out for the patient group, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale and Calgary Depression scale were used to assess patients' clinical status. Serum PGE2, 15d-PGJ and PPAR gamma levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy controls. There was no significant relationship between the serum PGE2, 15d-PGJ and PPAR gamma levels and CRP levels.In this study, the evidence of systemic inflammatory conditions in patients with schizophrenia was found. The duration of the disease has been found to be the only variable that independently affects all three biomarker levels in the patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVES: Bipolar disorder (BD) carries a high rate of morbidity and mortality, and the clarification of its aetiology continues to be an important field of research. In recent studies, the clinical characteristics of BDs have been explained through a number of underlying factors, including cytokines, steroids, neurotrophins, mitochondrial energy generation, oxidative stress, and neurogenesis. In this study, we aimed to investigate potential associations between BDs and inflammatory processes. METHODS: Patients with mania or in remission who attended outpatient clinics of the Department of Psychiatry of the Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, and who were diagnosed with BD according to the DSM-V criteria, were included in the study. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 software was used for statistical analyses of the data. The normality of the distribution of continuous and discrete numerical variables was tested with a Shapiro–Wilk Test. RESULTS: In this study, the measurements and statistical analyses revealed significantly lower 15-deoxy delta12, 14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) and Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-Gamma (PPARγ) levels in patients with mania in comparison to healthy controls and patients in remission. Group comparisons did not reveal any significant differences between IL-4 levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study was not a longitudinal study evaluating the same patients during both relapse and remission periods; no group of patients in a depressive episode of BD were included in the group comparisons either. Although this evidence is not adequate for a definite conclusion, the available evidence suggests that anti-inflammatory markers such as 15d-PGJ2 and IL-4 and nuclear PPARγ receptors are potential biomarkers to clarify the aetiology of BD, and these markers may be included among the therapeutic targets for future pharmacological modulations. Further studies are required in this area.

M.B. is supported by a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship (APP1059660 and APP1156072). All authors contributed equally., Fountoulakis, K.N., Dragioti, E., Theofilidis, A.T., Wikilund, T., Atmatzidis, X., Nimatoudis, I., Thys, E., Wampers, M., Hranov, L., Hristova, T., Aptalidis, D., Milev, R., Iftene, F., Spaniel, F., Knytl, P., Furstova, P., From, T., Karlsson, H., Walta, M., Salokangas, R.K.R., Azorin, J.-M., Bouniard, J., Montant, J., Juckel, G., Haussleiter, I.S., Douzenis, A., Michopoulos, I., Ferentinos, P., Smyrnis, N., Mantonakis, L., Nemes, Z., Gonda, X., Vajda, D., Juhasz, A., Shrivastava, A., Waddington, J., Pompili, M., Comparelli, A., Corigliano, V., Rancans, E., Navickas, A., Hilbig, J., Bukelskis, L., Injac Stevovic, L., Vodopic, S., Esan, O., Oladele, O., Osunbote, C., Rybakowski, J.Κ., Wojciak, P., Domowicz, K., Figueira, M.L., Linhares, L., Crawford, J., Panfil, A.-L., Smirnova, D., Izmailova, O., Lecic-Tosevski, D., Temmingh, H., Howells, F., Bobes, J., Garcia-Portilla, M.P., García-Alvarez, L., Erzin, G., Karadaǧ, H., De Sousa, A., Bendre, A., Hoschl, C., Bredicean, C., Papava, I., Vukovic, O., Pejuskovic, B., Russell, V., Athanasiadis, L., Konsta, A., Stein, D., Berk, M., Dean, O., Tandon, R., Kasper, S., De Hert, M.

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the dynamic thiol/disulphincide homeostasis in patients with schizophrenia who have positive psychotic indications.Materials and methods: Forty-four patients (26 males, 18 females; mean age=34.408.98years) accepted at the Department of Psychiatry of the Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital and 33 healthy controls (15 males, 18 females; mean age of 30.308.48years) were included in the study. Serum native thiol and total thiol were measured with a novel colorimetric, automated method. The disulfide levels and disulfide/native thiol ratios were also calculated from these measured parameters.Results: Serum native thiol and the total thiol concentration were significantly lower in schizophrenia compared with the control group (p

Background The patients with schizophrenia are at increased risk for problems regarding metabolic parameters due to their lifestyle and antipsychotic treatment. Objective In this study, we aimed to evaluate the levels of adiponectin, leptin, irisin in patients with schizophrenia who were nondiabetic, nonobese and under antipsychotic treatment. Method 5 ml sample of venous blood was collected from each participant. Blood cells were separated from the serum. The serum samples were stored in a -80°C freezer. Biochemical analyses were performed on these samples. Adiponectin, leptin and irisin levels were measured by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay method. Results The study included 88 subjects. Of them, 44 were patients with schizophrenia and 44 were healthy controls. There were no statistically significant results when the c-reactive protein, adiponectin, leptin and irisin levels were compared between the schizophrenia and the control group (p>0.05). Conclusion In our study, adiponectin, leptin and irisin levels in patients with schizophrenia did not present a statistically significant difference from healthy controls. Therefore, there is a need for studies including more participants to investigate the level of irisin in patients with schizophrenia.