Sosyal anksiyete bozukluğunda aleksitimi: Özgül bir ilişki mi, yoksa majör depresyon eş tanısının bir özelliği mi?

İstanbul Bilim Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi.Objective: Alexithymia has been extensively studied in the literature regarding its relationship with major depreşsion. However, patients with anxiety related problems also have high alexithymic traits. Our study aimed to assess the presence of alexithymia and clinical variables associated with it in a specific subset of patients with anxiety, namely social anxiety disorder (SAD). Methods: 140 patients with generalized type SAD were assessed by using Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Participants with TAS-20 scores ≥61 were considered as alexithymic and they were compared with non-alexithymic (TAS-20 <61) participants in terms of rating scale scores, clinical characteristics and comorbidity profiles. Results: 46 patients were alexithymic (32.9%) and 94 patients constituted the non-alexithymic group. In comparisons between the two groups, alexithymic group was characterized by a lower mean age at onset of SAD, higher BDI, BAI, LSAS scores and total number of comorbid diagnoses and lower mean current and previous year GAF scores. However, there appears to be a weaker relationship between SAD and alexithymia after controlling for depression. Discussion: Our results suggest that alexithymia is associated with a more severe symptomatology, higher comorbidity and functional impairment in patients with SAD. However, this association may be stronger in patients who have current comorbid majör depression than in other patients with SAD.Amaç: Aleksitimi majör depresyon ile ilişkisi açısından literatürde geniş bir biçimde araştırılmıştır. Bununla birlikte anksiyete ile ilgili sorunları olan hastalarda da aleksitimik özellikler sık görülmektedir. Çalışmamızda anksiyete bozuklukları arasında özgül bir alt grup olan sosyal anksiyete bozukluğu (SAB) hastalarında aleksitiminin varlığı ve onunla ilişkili klinik değişkenlerin değerlendirilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Yöntem: Yaygın tip SAB tanılı 140 hasta Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeği-20 (TAÖ-20), Liebowitz Sosyal Anksiyete Ölçeği (LSAÖ), Beck Depresyon Ölçeği (BDÖ), Beck Anksiyete Ölçeği (BAÖ) ve İşlevselliğin Genel Değerlendirilmesi (İGD) ile değerlendirildi. TAÖ-20 skoru ≥61 olan katılımcılar aleksitimik olarak değerlendirildi ve ölçek skorları, klinik özellikleri ve eş tanı profilleri aleksitimik olmayan (TAS-20 <61) katılımcılarla karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: 46 hasta aleksitimikti (%32.9) ve 94 hasta da aleksitimik olmayan grubu oluşturdu. İki grup arası karşılaştırmalarda aleksitimik grupta ortalama SAB başlangıç yaşı daha düşüktü, BDÖ, BAÖ, LSAÖ skorları ile eş tanı sayısı daha yüksekti, şimdiki ve önceki yıldaki İGD skorları daha düşüktü. Bununla birlikte depresyon açısından kontrol edildiğinde SAB ile aleksitimi arasındaki ilişki daha zayıf görünüyordu. Tartışma: Bulgularımız aleksitiminin SAB hastalarında belirtilerin daha şiddetli olması, daha yüksek eş tanı oranı ve daha fazla yeti yitimi ile ilişkili olduğunu düşündürmektedir. Öte yandan bu ilişki halen aktif bir majör depresif episod içerisinde olan hastalarda diğer SAB hastalarına göre daha güçlü olabilir

Decreased IFN-gamma and IL-12 levels in panic disorder

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the measures of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with panic disorder in comparison with the healthy subjects. Methods: Twenty three patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia and twenty three controls were recruited for the study. Plasma samples of all subjects were analyzed for TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-6, and IL-12 concentrations and NK-cell activity is measured in the peripheral blood samples of the subjects. Results: We found significant differences on the mean values of IL-12 (p = 0.01) and IFN-gamma (p = 0.02) between the panic disorder and control groups. In a logistic regression analysis, IFN-gamma values were significant statistical predictors of the presence of panic disorder (B = -0.07, SE = 0.03, p = 0.04). Conclusion: The most important implication of our results is to suggest a relation between panic disorder and low levels of IFN-gamma compatible with the results of the animal studies showing that IFN-gamma plays a role by acting to regulate the development of anxiety-like behaviors

Serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism is associated with executive function impairments in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Abstract: Objective: In the present study, we investigate the association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and executive functions in a sample of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: A total of 98 unmedicated patients diagnosed with OCD according to DSM-IV criteria and 80 healthy controls were included in this study. The genotype frequencies of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism were compared in OCD and healthy control groups. The four subgroups of OCD and healthy control participants, determined according to having LaLa genotype (high expressing) or S- and/or Lg alleles (low expressing), were also compared using neuropsychological tests of executive functions. Results: The frequency of SLa genotype of 5-HTTLPR polymorphism was found to be higher in patients with OCD compared with healthy controls. The mean scores of conceptual level responses of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were significantly lower in the OCD-high-expressing subgroup compared with the low-expressing control group. The mean scores of the number of moves of the Tower of London were found to be significantly higher in the OCD-high-expressing subgroup, compared with the high-expressing subgroup of healthy controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the high-expressing variant may be associated with lower performance on some abstraction and planning measures in OCD patients