OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the rates childhood traumatic experiences (CTEs) of schizophrenia patients and to examine relationship between childhood traumatic experiences, dissociation and psychotic symptoms. METHODS: One hundred schizophrenia patients who had 5 or 5 points below in Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and who were not in active psychotic episode and 50 healthy siblings who grew up in the same environment with the patients were included to the study. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV, Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), CGI-S, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-28) applied to the patients. RESULTS: Childhood abuse subscales and DES scores were statistically higher in the patient group (p<0.001). We determined moderately significant positive correlation between CTQ-28 and DES. We determined moderately significant positive correlation between CTQ total scores and persecutory delusions, delusions of reference, ability to feel intimacy and closeness; relationship with friends and peers. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between persecutory delusions and CTQ-total, DES-total and all subscales of CTQ-28. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should inquire about CTEs to develop comprehensive formulations and treatment plans among schizophrenia.
Delusions ; Friends ; Humans ; Schizophrenia ; Siblings

Objective: There is no study comparing schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in terms of caregiver burden. This study aims to compare the caregiver burden among family members of the patients with schizophrenia and ASD and investigate the predictive factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study with the family members living with and/or providing care to their patients was carried out. A sociodemographic form, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Self-Stigma Inventory for Families, and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale were utilized. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the predictive factors for higher burden. Results: Caregiver burden in ASD was significantly higher than in schizophrenia. Regression analysis showed that the predictors of high caregiver burden were the need for self-care (OR=3.6), self-destructive behaviors (OR=3.4), self-stigma (OR=1.1), depression (OR=1.1), and level of income (OR=1.0) for all family members. When the diagnosis was removed from the equation, the factors determining the high burden did not change. Conclusion This study suggests that characteristics of the illness are stronger predictors than family members’ characteristics in explaining high caregiver burden for both illnesses. Psychological, social, and economic supports should be provided for families to help alleviate their caregiving burden.

Background: In literature, electrocardiographic (ECG) changes and the increase in the levels of the natriuretic peptide are shown to occur in patients having acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to investigate the association between ECG alterations and NT pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) values in patients having acute ischemic stroke with no known cardiac pathology. Methods: The patients who admitted to the emergency service with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled in the study. Their ECGs were recorded and serum samples were obtained as soon as they arrived into the emergency service. The plasma NT-proBNP levels were measured by electrochemiluminescence method. Maximum QT interval, QT dispersion (QTd), corrected QT and corrected QTd (cQT and cQTd) was calculated, for each ECG. The patients were evaluated according to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Results: A total of 50 consecutive patients were evaluated. QT intervals for 4 patients (8%) and cQT intervals for 29 patients (58%) were above 440 ms and 11 patients (22%) had QTd values above 50ms and 17 (34%) had cQTd values above 50 ms. The NTproBNP levels had a negative correlation with the GCS (p=0.001, r= -0.461) and a positive correlation with the NIHSS, cQT, QTd and cQTd (p=0.001, r=0.444, p=0.000, r=0.494, p=0.016, r=0.338 p=0.011, r=0.355, respectively). Conclusions: The NT-proBNP levels in the ischemic stroke patients with no known cardiac pathology were markedly increased, and this increase was found to be associated with the GCS, NIHSS, cQT, QTd and the cQTd interval.

BACKGROUND:This study aimed to compare pantoprazole, a proton-pomp inhibitors (PPIs), and ranitidine, a H2 receptor antagonists (H2RA), in ceasing dyspeptic symptoms in the emergency department (ED). METHODS:This randomized, double-blinded study compared the effectiveness of 50 mg ranitidine (Ulcuran?) and 40 mg pantoprazole (Pantpas?), given in a 100 mL saline solution by an intravenous rapid infusion within 2–4 minutes in patients with dyspepsia presented to the ED. Pain intensity was measured at baseline, 30 and 60 minutes after the drug administration. RESULTS:A total of 72 patients were eligible for the study. Of these patients, 2 were excluded from the study because the initial visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were under 20 mm and 4 were excluded from the statistical analysis because of being diagnosed as having other causes of epigastric pain despite being allocated to one of the study groups. Thirty-three patients in the pantoprazole group and 33 patients in the ranitidine group were analyzed ultimately. The mean age of the patients was 36.6±15 years, and 26 (39.4％) patients were male. Both of the groups reduced pain effectively at 30 [27.6±28 (18 to 37) vs. 28.3±23 (20 to 37), respectively] and 60 minutes [39.6±39 (26 to 53) vs. 42.3±25 (33 to 51), respectively]. There were 13 (39.4％) patients in the pantoprazole group and 8 (24.2％) patients in the ranitidine group who required additional drug at the end of the study (P=0.186). CONCLUSION:Intravenous pantoprazole and ranitidine are not superior to each other in ceasing dyspeptic symptoms at 30 and 60 minutes in the ED.

OBJECTIVE: Symptomatic remission have substantial effects in long-term schizophrenia outcome, but exact determinants of the employment. In this study, the relationship between employment and symptomatic remission in chronic schizophrenia patients and other factors related to employment were investigated.METHODS: 100 patients interviewed were evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Functional Recovery Scale in Schizophrenia (FROGS), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Quality of Life Scale (QoL) and Subjective Recovery Assessment Scale (SubRAS). Sociodemographic variables, clinical features, antipsychotic dose and past working history obtained from patient interviews were investigated.RESULTS: The patients of 40% who participate in the study were symptomatic remission, but only 53.5% of these patients weren’t employed. Young age, especially, -regardless of the onset of illness- working a job in the past, low and moderate use CPED (equivalent doses according to chlorpromazine), shorter disease duration, symptomatic remission was found to be closely related to employment. While QoL, FROGS, GAF, and SubRAS total scores of employment group were higher than the unemployment group, PANSS total scores in the unemployment group were higher than that of the employment group. There was a high correlation between the scales and employment status.CONCLUSION: Employment status was closely related with the remission status. This study supports that symptomatic remission alone is not decisive for employment. It was found that younger age, past working history (before or after the disease), low and intermediate CPED antipsychotic use and shorter duration of disease were closely related to employment with symptomatic remission.
Employment ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Schizophrenia ; Unemployment ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The etiopathogenesis of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is not known completely. In most of the cases, CAE is associated with atherosclerosis; however, isolated CAE has a nonatherosclerotic mechanism. The association between atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and apelin has been examined in previous studies. However, the role of plasma apelin in isolated coronary artery ectasia has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the relationship between plasma apelin levels and isolated coronary artery ectasia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population included a total of 54 patients. Twenty-six patients had isolated CAE (53.6+/-8.1 years); 28 patients with normal coronary arteries (51.6+/-8.8 years) and with similar risk factors and demographic characteristics served as the control group. Apelin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit. RESULTS: Apelin level in the CAE group was significantly lower (apelin=0.181+/-0.159 ng/mL) than that in the control group (apelin=0.646+/-0.578 ng/mL) (p=0.033). Glucose, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed that patients with isolated CAE have decreased plasma apelin levels compared with the control group. Based on the data, a relationship between plasma apelin and isolated CAE was determined.
Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels* ; Creatinine ; Dilatation, Pathologic* ; Glucose ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Inflammation ; Plasma ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides