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WOS: 000449654800003 Background: The relationship between impulsivity and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been revealed in several mental disorders other than phobias. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity, and NSSI characteristics in patients with phobias, and to compare these relationships with healthy controls. Methods: The sample of this study consisted of outpatients (n = 109) who had been diagnosed with social phobia, agoraphobia or simple phobia in addition to healthy individuals (n = 51) serving as the control group. Data collection tools were the socio-demographic form, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11), the Inventory of Statements About Self-Injury (ISAS), and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-3). Results: Mean BIS-11 and ASI-3 scores in the social phobia and agoraphobia groups were found to be significantly higher than those in the control group. In addition, a positive correlation was found between ISAS and cognitive anxiety sensitivity scores in the agoraphobia and simple phobia groups. Discussion: The study revealed a positive correlation between cognitive anxiety sensitivity and NSSI in both the agoraphobia and simple phobia groups. The results of this study indicate that anxiety sensitivity may play a regulatory role between impulsivity and NSSI in some sub-groups of phobia.

We aimed to examine the correlation between Internet addiction and sleep disturbance symptoms among students. Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was used. The students with addictive Internet use were more likely to have difficulty in falling asleep and night awakenings. Problematic Internet users and addictive Internet users were found to sleep significantly less than avarage Internet users. A significant positive correlation between daily sleep duration and IAT and weekly Internet use was found. Linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative and independent association of IAT with daily sleep duration. These results indicate an association between the Internet addiction and impaired sleep.

Aim : We aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety disorders and somatisation disorders described in ICD-10 within the title of neurotic disorders, and the personality characteristics related to both groups. Method : Fifty-eight individuals who were either have DSM-IV panic disorder (PD) and or somatisation disorder (SD) completed the Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory (MMPI). Intergroup differences of MMPI scores and personality disorders were analyzed. Result : The scores obtained from the clinical subscales of PD (n:28) and SD patients (n:30), and in the MMPI test were similar in comparison. The differences between the MMPI scores of PD and SD patients were statistically significant regarding the passive-aggressive personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder scores. The mean values of the study conducted in a Turkish population sample were used as cut-points, the results were greater than normal in the psychastenia and depression subtest scores in group PD, and in deny subtest in group SD (p< 0.01). Conclusion : The findings were compatible with those in the literature. All of these personality disorders above-mentioned and found high in PD with an exception of the borderline personality disorder share high comorbidity with neuroticism. However, comparative studies following treatment are required whether these characteristics are related to the personality structure or the nature of PD.

WOS: 000272730500004 PubMed: 19544219 Background: Conversion disorder is thought to be associated with psychological factors because of the presence of conflict and other stressors prior to the condition. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare adult patients with pseudoseizure-type conversion disorder with healthy control group in terms of childhood trauma, dissociative disorder and family history of psychiatric disorders. Method : 56 female patients were admitted to the general psychiatry hospital outpatient clinic between January and July 2005. All patients had a negative experience about their families just before having the conversion. Diagnosis was made according to the DSM-IV criteria. A control group consisting of similar patient demographics of the disease group has been selected. Socio-demographic information forms, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Dissociation Questionnaire (DIS-Q), were completed on the patients. Results: CTQ total (t = 12.12, P < 0.001) and subscales, emotional abuse and emotional neglect (EA-EN) (t = 12.74, P < 0.001), physical abuse (PA) (t = 10.05, P < 0.001), and sexual abuse (SA) (t = 7.69, P < 0.001) were significantly high in the conversion group. DIS-Q mean points were statistically higher in the conversion group (t = 11.05, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings suggest that pseudoseizures (conversion disorder) should be included within dissociative disorders in DSM system as in ICD. It is usually uncommon for the patient to tell about childhood trauma without being specially questioned about this issue. Thus, it would be helpful to uncover these experiences by using related scales in conversion disorder patients.

IntroductionIt is widely known that childhood traumatic life situations are associated with most of the adult life psychiatric disorders such as disassociative disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and so on.Objectives and aimsThe purpose of this study to examine the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and panic disorder development.MethodsThe sample of this study consists of 59 outpatients who applied to the department of psychiatry in addition to 61 healthy individuals serving as the control group. These 59 individuals, located within the range of 18 to 65 years, were selected from outpatients who had been diagnosed with panic disorder based on DSM-V diagnosis criteria who did not have any other mental disorder. The 61 healthy individuals in the control group were selected from hospital attendants who had not received any psychiatric diagnosis. The participants were administered the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ) and a socio-demographic form.ResultsThe participants in the panic disorder group were found to have significantly high scores in comparison to the control group with respect to CTQ subscales (i.e., the emotional neglect and the emotional abuse subscale) and the total CTQ score. Hence, there exists a strong relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and panic disorder development.ConclusionThe results revealed that childhood traumatic experiences play an active role in the development of panic disorder. Moreover, it was found that the type and quality of trauma experienced during the childhood period is one of the predictors for the psychiatric disease that can occur in the future years.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

We aimed to show the effect of osteoporosis on sleep quality in 59 postmenopausal women. The participants’ bone-mineral density levels were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). According to their DEXA results, participants were divided into two groups as osteoporotics and controls. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality. Fourteen osteoporotic women (43.8%) and four controls (14.8%) were “poor” sleepers (p < 0.05). Postmeno-pausal women with osteoporosis scored greater on the “sleep latency” and “sleep duration” components of PSQI than controls. According to the findings of our study, osteoporosis is a risk factor for poor sleep quality in postmenopausal women.

Sir: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder characterized by preoccupation with an imagined defect in one's appearance. Alternatively, BDD may involve a minor physical abnormality, but the concern is regarded as grossly excessive.1 Most patients with BDD show repetitive behaviors, such as mirror checking, requests for reassurance, and skin picking, which resemble obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) compulsions. Studies using psychometric scales found that dysmorphophobic patients were more “obsessoid” and reported higher scores on the Leyton Obsessional Inventory than healthy controls.2

WOS: 000305769000002 PubMed: 22000475 Purpose: This study aimed to investigate Internet use patterns and Internet addiction among young adult university students and to examine the correlation between excessive Internet use and dissociative symptoms. Methods: The study was conducted among 1034 students, aged between 18 and 27 years. Internet Addiction Scale, Dissociative Experiences Scale, and a sociodemographic query form were used in the collection of data. Pearson correlation analysis, the t test, and chi(2) test were used for data analysis. Results: According to the Internet Addiction Scale, 9.7% of the study sample was addicted to the Internet. The Pearson correlation analysis results revealed a significant positive correlation between dissociative experiences and Internet addiction (r = 0.220; P < .001) and weekly Internet use (r = 0.227; P < .001). Levels of Internet addiction were significantly higher among male students than female students (P

Although memantine has been reported to be useful for psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, 2,3 a few anecdotal reports have noted that it may conversely cause hallucinations and delusions. 4,5 Herein, we report the case of a patient with bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s disease who developed delusions and auditory hallucinations as a result of memantine therapy. Significant resolution of these symptoms occurred once treatment was discontinued. To our knowledge, this report is the first to describe psychotic symptoms in a patient with bipolar disorder and comorbid Alzheimer’s disease as a result of memantine treatment.

WOS: 000267995200009 PubMed: 19593177 Background: The relationship between major depression and increased platelet activity has been previously indicated by several studies. The aims of this study were to examine mean platelet volume (MPV), which is an indicator of platelet activity, in patients with depression and investigate whether escitalopram treatment would affect MPV. Methods: Fifteen patients (11 women and 4 men) meeting the criteria for a current episode of major depressive disorder were recruited to the study and 17 physically and mentally healthy comparison subjects (11 women and 6 men). Mean platelet volume and platelet count of the controls and patients were measured upon entry to the study. After 8 weeks of open-label treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram (10-20 mg/d), the patients with depression were readmitted and the measurements were repeated. Results: At baseline, in comparison with the control group, the group with depression exhibited greater platelet activity as detected by increased MPV After escitalopram treatment, the patients with depression exhibited significant reduction in MPV There was also a significant decline in platelet count. Conclusions: In this study, normalization of platelet activation is associated with escitalopram treatment for patients with depression. This finding may provide evidence for the use of escitalopram in patients with major depression and comorbid ischemic heart disease.

Lithium is a widely used mood stabilizer, which may cause cardiac side effects. In this article, we present the case of a 39-year-old woman who had presented with pre-syncope and developed multiple ECG abnormalities that are caused by lithium intoxication and are disappeared after hemodialysis. © 2008 Canan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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WOS: 000183769800004 PubMed: 12811674 Objective: While in most healthy persons dexamethasone administration suppresses cortisol synthesis from the adrenal cortex, such suppression is not usually observed in patients with depression. We set out to investigate whether the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) reveals any neurobiological relationship between fibromyalgia (FM) and depression related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Method. To discover a relationship between depression and FM we performed the DST in 2 0 FM patients with depression, 26 FM patients without depression and 20 healthy subjects serving as a control group. Results: Compared with the control group the cortisol level was found to be significantly higher in response to the DST in FM patients with depression (p = 0.03; z: -2.165), but not in those without depression (p = 0.15 3 ; z: -1.429). The cortisol level was not found to be statistically significant when patients with FM without depression were compared with the control group (p = 0.249 z: -1.152). In 7 FM patients with depression the DST failed to suppress cortisol; this was statistically significant compared with FM patients without depression (p = 0.014) and the control group (p = 0.008). Among FM patients without depression cortisol was not suppressed in one case. Cortisol was suppressed in all the controls. There was no statistically significant difference in cortisol suppression between FM patients without depression and the control group (p = 1.00). Conclusion: Our findings show that the DST reveals no neurobiological relationship between FM and depression related to the HPA axis.

WOS: 000185080500019 PubMed: 12923337 Paradoxical therapy consists of suggesting that the patient intentionally engages in the unwanted behaviour such as performing compulsive ritual or wanting a conversion attack. In this study, the subjects were selected by the emergency unit psychiatrist from patients who were admitted to the emergency unit with pseudoseizure. The diagnoses was based on DSIVI-IV criteria. Paradoxical intention was applied to half of the 30 patients with conversion disorders; the other half were treated with diazepam in order to examine the efficiency of the paradoxical intention versus diazepam. In both groups the differences of the anxiety scores at the beginning of the study were found to be insignificant (z=1.08, p=0.28). Of the 15 patients who completed paradoxical intention treatment, 14 (93.3%) responded favorably to paradoxical intention. On the other hand of 15 patients who completed diazepam therapy, 9 (60%) responded well to therapy and 6 patients carried on their conversion symptoms at the end of 6 weeks. Paradoxical intention-treated patients appeared to have greater improvements in anxiety scores (z=2.43, p

Introduction It is widely accepted that obesity is a major public health problem in the world. The rapid rise in prevalence suggests environmental factors are responsible. Increased use of information and communication technology is also reported to be associated with increased rates of obesity. Objectives Although many studies have analyzed the impact of televison viewing on obesity, the association of excessive Internet use with body mass index (BMI) has heretofore been evaluated only in relatively few studies. Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate Internet use patterns and Internet addiction among adolescents and to examine the correlation between problematic Internet use and BMI. Methods The study was conducted among 1938 students, aged between 14 and 18 years. Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Eating Attitudes Test, and a sociodemographic query form were used in the collection of data. Results According to the IAT, 10.5% of the study sample was a ‘problematic Internet user’ or an ‘Internet addict’. A significant positive correlation between BMI and IAT (r = 0.307; p Conclusions These results indicate an association between the Internet addiction and BMI. Further studies are needed to describe the causality of this association.

Introduction Sleep quality is a relevant dimension with regards to sleep-wake functioning, and poor sleep quality has been found to be associated with poor academic achievement and health. Objectives Internet use has been identified as having a detrimental effect on sleep patterns. Studies, however, on the relationship between Internet overuse and physical health or sleep problems have been rarely performed (5,6). Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate Internet addiction among adolescents and to examine the correlation between problematic Internet use and sleep disturbance symptoms. Methods The study was conducted among 1956 students, aged between 14 and 18 years. Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and a sociodemographic query form were used in the collection of data. Results The students with Internet addiction were more likely to have difficulty in falling asleep (p Conclusions These results indicate an association between the Internet addiction and impaired sleep. Further studies are needed to describe the causality of this association.

WOS: 000278872900012 PubMed: 20557252 The Internet Addiction Scale (IAS) is a self-report instrument based on the seven substance dependence criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and two additional criteria recommended by Griffiths. The IAS was administered to 300 high school students along with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Submissive Acts Scale (SAS). For test-retest reliability, the IAS was administered a second time 7 days after the first administration. An interitem reliability reduced the initial scale from 31 to 27 items (with Cronbach's alpha of 0.94). The factor analysis suggests the existence mainly of one factor in the IAS. Correlation analyses indicated that BDI and SAS were significantly correlated positively with the IAS. One-week test-retest correlation for the IAS was highly significant. According to these results, the psychometric properties of the IAS are promising.