Nitric oxide in the psychobiology of mental disorders

Nitric oxide is in a gaseous form and is widespread in the human body. It functions by acting as a secondary messenger in the modulatory activities of neuronal functions of the central nervous system. Nitric oxide is the first identified neurotransmitter of the nontraditional neurotransmitter family.Studies conducted on experimental animals demonstrate that nitric oxide has a neuromodulatory efficacy on the secretions of other neurotransmitters and that it has an effect on learning and memory functions, and on various neuronal mechanisms. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the location of nitric oxide in the central nervous system, its effect on anxiety and depression, its relationship with other neurotransmitters, and also about its role on neurotoxicity. There are clinical studies concerning the level of nitrate, a product of nitric oxide metabolism, and also experimental studies concerning its rewarding effect of alcohol and substance use, in patients with depression and schizophrenia. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate its relationship with stress, which is an important factor in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. These studies demonstrate that nitric oxide is closely related with stress physiology.Nitric oxide is a neuromodulator, which is frequently being mentioned about nowadays in psychiatry. Clinical and experimental studies play an important role in the psychobiology of psychiatric disorders

Job Satisfaction, Anxiety Level and Associated Factors in a Group of Residents in a University Hospital

In present study, we aimed to research the job satisfaction among the residents at Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital, some factors affecting this and some psychological effects of not being pleased with their jobs. With respect to this aim, socio demographic data form, Minnesota Job Satisfaction, Beck Anxiety Inventory, State Trait Anger Scale were given to 140 residents at University who accepted to join this study and were collected the following day. In study, 35 percent of the participants having joined the study weren’t pleased with their works. The number of satisfied residents was higher among the willingly choice making residents in favour of their Works(34.8%) than the participants who were unwilling to choice the department (65.2%) they are working now (x2:11.046, p<0.01). Beck anxiety results were found to be much higher in the residents who were not pleased with their workers than the workers pleased with their works. Finally, there are some factors determining the job satisfaction. There is relationship between job satisfaction and mental health. Because this can give rise to negative effects on the performance of the work, it is required that some solution ways be found in order to increase the work contention

Neurological evaluation of 3-4 year old patients who underwent cardiac surgery in the neonatal period.

TEZ12031Tez (Uzmanlık) -- Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana, 2019.Kaynakça (s. 49-57) var.VIII, 61 s. :_res. (bzs. rnk.), tablo ;_29 cm.Amaç: Neonatal konjenital kalp hastalığı olan bebeklerin antenatal tanı alması, postnatal takip ve cerrahi sonrası takiplerinin deneyimli merkezlerde yapılması uzun dönem komplikasyon gelişmemesi açısından yararlı olabilir. Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hastanesi Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım ünitesinde opere olan konjenital kalp hastalarının 3-4 yaştaki kardiyak fonksiyonları, nörolojik muayeneleri ve nörogelişimsel durumları, büyüme ve gelişmelerini araştırmayı amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışmaya Ocak 2013 ile Aralık 2015 tarihleri arasında ÇÜTF YYBÜ’e yatırılmış, konjenital kalp hastalığı nedeni ile cerrahi uygulanmış ve takibi devam eden 25 bebeğin, 3-4 yaştaki kardiyak fonksiyonları, nörolojik muayeneleri, Denver Gelişimsel Tarama Testi II ve Stanford-Binet testi uygulanarak nörogelişimsel durumları değerlendirildi. Bu bebeklerin retrospektif olarak epikriz bilgilerinden; demografik özellikleri; doğum tarihi, gebelik haftası, cinsiyeti, doğum kiloları, operasyon tipleri, preoperatif ve postoperatif sepsis öyküleri, operasyon öncesi ve sonrası ventilatör destek tedavilerinin varlığı ve süreleri, postoperatif inotropik ihtiyaçları, postoperatif komplikasyonları, enteral beslenmeye başlanma zamanı, prognozları, hastanede yatış süreleri kaydedildi. Bulgular: DGTT II değerlendirmesi anormal olan hastaların operasyon öncesi sepsis öyküsü, normal olan hastalardan daha fazlaydı ve bu fark istatiksel olarak anlamlıydı (p=0,032) Hastaların 8’inin (%32) 3-4 yaşta diüretik ihtiyacı devam etmekte idi. Diüretik ihtiyacı olan hastaların DGTT II sonucu, diüretik ihtiyacı olmayan hastalar ile karşılaştırıldı ve istatistiksel olarak sınırda düşük anlamlılık saptandı (p=0,059). Operasyon öncesi sepsis tanısı olan hastaların Stanford-Binet testi sonucu, olmayan hastalarla karşılaştırıldığında istatiksel olarak anlamlı düşük saptandı. (p=0,007). Doğumda gestasyon haftası ve doğum ağırlığı daha yüksek olan hastaların 3-4 yaştaki kiloları, boyu ve baş çevresi daha düşük saptandı (p=0,034) (p=0,034) (p=0,031). Sonuç: Konjenital kalp hastalığı olan olguların operasyon öncesi sepsis atağı geçirmiş olmaları ileri dönemde nörolojik gelişimlerini etkiler. Bu nedenle hastalarda operasyon öncesi sepsisi azaltabilecek önlemlerin alınması, bu konuda taburculukta bilgilendirilmeleri ve erken dönemde fark edilmesinin sağlanması, zamanında nörolojik desteğe başlanması açısından önemlidir. 3-4 yaşta halen kardiyolojik medikal desteğe ihtiyacın olması da nörolojik sekel gelişmesi açısından dikkat edilmesi gereken bir parametredir. Doğumda gestasyon haftası ve doğum ağırlığının daha iyi durumda olması ailelerin tutum ve bebek bakımlarını etkiliyor olabilir. Daha düşük gestasyon haftada ve ağırlıkta doğan bebeklerin 3-4 yaşa kadar daha iyi bakım ve beslenme almaları sonucunda kiloları daha iyi hale gelmiş olabilir.Objective: Antenatal diagnosis of neonatal congenital heart disease, postnatal follow-up and post-operative follow-up in experienced centers may be useful to avoid long-term complications. We aimed to investigate the cardiac functions, neurological examinations and neurodevelopmental status, growth and development of 3-4-year-old operated congenital cardiac patients in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Cukurova University Medical Faculty Hospital. Material and Method: 25 infants with congenital heart disease who were operated on and followed up between January 2013 and December 2015 at the ÇUFoM NICU were included in the study. Cardiac functions, neurological examinations, Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DGTT II) and Stanford-Binet test were used to evaluate the neurodevelopmental status of the participants. The following information was saved from these infants' epicrisis information retrospectively; demographic characteristics, date of birth, gestational week, sex, birth weight, types of operations, preoperative and postoperative sepsis history, presence and duration of pre- and postoperative ventilator supportive treatments, postoperative inotropic needs, postoperative complications, enteral feeding time, prognosis, and hospitalization durations. Findings: Seven of the patients (28%) had preoperative sepsis. Patients with abnormal DGTT II evaluation had a higher rate of history of sepsis before the operation, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0,032). 8 of the patients (32%) had a need for diuretics at 3-4 years of age. The DGTT II result of patients who needed diuretics was compared with those who didn't and statistically significant low borderline significance was found (p=0,059. The Stanford-Binet test results of the patients who were diagnosed with sepsis before the operation were significantly lower than the patients without sepsis (p=0,007). The patients with a higher gestational age at birth and higher birth weight were found to have lower weight, height and head circumference at 3-4 years of age (p=0,034) (p=0,034) (p=0,031). Conclusion: The occurrence of sepsis attacks before the operation affects the neurological development of the patients with congenital heart disease. Therefore, it is important for patients to take precautionary measures to reduce sepsis prior to the operation, to be informed about this issue when being discharged in order for this to be noticed at an early stage, and to initiate neurological support in a timely manner. The need for cardiologic medical support at 3-4 years of age is also a parameter that should be considered in terms of neurological sequelae development. The gestational week at birth and better birth weight may affect attitudes and the care provided by families. Children who were born at lower gestational weeks and with lower weight may have improved weight as a result of better care and nutrition until 3-4 years of age.Bu çalışma Çukurova Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Birimi tarafından desteklendi (no: 8636)

Attitudes of Nurses towards Depression and Depressive Patients: A Comperative Study

To determine and compare mental health nurses’ and general hospital nurses’beliefs and knowledge about the etiology and treatment of depression and theirattitudes towards depressive patients.70 nurses working in a mental health hospital and 30 nurses working in a generalhospital were interviewed face to face with a questionnaire developed by PsyciatricResearch and Education Center in Turkey.The attitudes of both groups were positive towards depresssion and depressivepatients. But while mental health nurse group accepted depression as a disorder thegeneral hospital nurse group did not consider depression as a disorder but rather asan emotional state everyone can fall into from time to time in their lives. Generalhospital nurse group thought that stressfull life events caused depression more thancompared to mental heath nurse group. They bought considered depression as atreatable illness and they both thought that depression cannot be completely curedwithout resolving social problems. Non of the groups hold the opinion that people withdepression were dangerous and they put less social distance towards depressivepatients.Especially the general hospital nurse group did not consider depression as adisorder while considering schizophrenia as a mental disorder. This positive andaccepting attitude might cause the general hospital nurse group to underrecognizedepression. So this may indicate a need for a theorotical educational programmeabout depression for the general hospital nurse group

Serological and Molecular Investigation of the Presence and Association of Toxoplasma gondii in Bipolar Affective Disorder and Schizophrenic Patients

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that affects about one third of the population in developed countries. It is known that in the brain and muscle tissues of infected people, this parasite maintains its stagnant phase lifelong. T. gondii relation, in terms of neurotropism is shown up to 60% in anxiety, depression, even schizophrenic psychoses. Schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder (BAD) are neuropsychiatric disorders seen worldwide and their etiologies are not fully understood. Recently, it is suggested that although it is clinically indefinite, it may be a neurotropic agent, such as the trophozoites of the parasite, that have a special affinity to the glia cells of the brain. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of 87 bipolar affective disorder and 63 schizophrenia patients who applied to Eskisehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty Psychiatry Clinic in a one-year period, and 50 healthy volunteers that had no psychiatric disorders or antipsychotic and antidepressant drug usage history. Blood samples were evaluated for T. gondii presence by real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and ELISA. In addition, the relationship between parasitic-mental disorder and social variables was assessed by questionnaires consisting of 29 questions in the patient group and 21 questions in the control group, which included social variables and T. gondii transmission routes and contacts. Results: All serum samples of 150 patients and 50 controls were tested by ELISA and PCR methods, and those identified with T. gondii presence by any of the tests were evaluated as positive. Seropositivity of T. gondii was detected in 61 (30.5%) of 200 serum samples. In 53 (26.5%) of the samples, only anti-toxo IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA and in 8 (4%), positivity was defined by PCR. Anti Toxo IgM antibodies were negative in both groups. PCR positivity was determined only in the patient group. T. gondii presence was defined in 29 (33.3%) of the BAD patients, 18 (28.5%) of the schizophrenic patients and 14 (28%) of the controls. There was no significant difference between patient and control groups. In the evaluation of the study data, Pearson chi-square and Fisher exact chi-square were used and p< 0.05 value was accepted as statistically significant. Conclusion: In this study, though it was not statistically significant, there was a higher frequency of Toxoplasma particularly in the patients with BAD and schizophrenia patients than in the healthy persons. Large cohort studies are required to determine the relationship between this parasite and the neuropsychiatric disorders

The comparison of parents perception on weight, appearance and appetite of their children with objective criteria

Amaç: Ebeveynlerin çoğunun çocuklarının vücut ağırlığı ya da iştahları ile ilgili endişelerinin olması çok yaygın bir durumdur. Hekimler ebeveynlerin çocukları hakkındaki yargılarına güvenmezler. Bu çalışmada ebeveynlerin, çocuklarının vücut ağırlığı ve görünümleri hakkındaki görsel algısı ile iştahları hakkındaki yargılarının, çocuklarının ve kendilerinin beden kitle indeksi (BKİ) gibi nesnel ölçütlerle karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Polikliniğine Ocak-Şubat 2012 tarihleri arasında herhangi bir yakınma ile başvuran, ortalama yaşları 6,42,8 (2-14 yaş arası) olan 150 çocuk ile anne veya babaları çalışmaya alındı. Ebeveyn ve çocukların BKİ değerleri ile çocukların yaşa göre BKİ persentilleri hesaplandı. Ebeveynlerden, çocuklarının iştahını nasıl değerlendirdikleri sorulup, çocuklarının görünümünü yaş grupları ve cinsiyete göre beden gelişimi için hazırlanmış zayıftan obeze değişen 7 setlik resimlerden uygun bulduklarıyla eşleştirmeleri istendi. Bulgular: Çocukların gerçek BKİ persentil aralıklarıyla karşılaştırıldığında, ebeveynlerin görseller üzerinden yaptığı eşleştirmelerde 55 (%36,7) çocuğun olduğundan daha zayıf değer- lendirildiği görüldü. İki değerlendirme arasındaki fark ebeveynlerin veya çocuğun cinsiyetine göre farklılık oluşturmuyordu ve çocuğun yaşı, ebeveyn eğitimi veya BKİ değeri ile korele değildi. Sonu ç: Ebeveynlerin çocuklarının vücut ağırlığı ve iştahı hakkındaki algıları ve değerlendirmeleri çocuğun durumunu nesnel olarak yansıtmamaktadır. Ebeveynlerle çocukların vücut ağırlığı ve iştahları hakkında konuşmak çocuk sağlığı danışmanlığının temel parçalarından biri haline getirilmelidir.Objective: Parental concerns about the development and appetite of their children a re common. Physicians do not trust the judgements of parents regarding their children. In this study, our aim was to assess parents visual perception of childrens body weight and appearance and judgement of their appetite. Then assessment results will be compared with objective criterion like body mass index (BMI) of both parents and their children. Methods: One hundred and ffty children with the average age of 6.4&plusmn;2.8 (2-14) years who attended to &Ccedil;anakkale Onsekiz Mart University Medical Faculty, Training and Research Hospital, Child Health and Disease Outpatient Clinics for any complaints during January and February 2012 were involved in the study. BMIs of both parents and children and BMI percentile of chil- dren for age were calculated. Parents were asked to evaluate appetite of their children and match the suitable appearance of their children with a previously constructed set of seven pictures, refecting physical develo pment adjusted for age and sex varying from lean to obese. Res ult: When we compared the real BMI percentiles of children with the visual assessm ents of parents, 55 (36.7%) of children were evaluated thinner than they were. The difference was not signifcant according to parents or gender of child and not correlated with the age of child, and education or BMI of parents. Con clusion: The perception of the parents related to their childrens physical development and appetite does not objectively refect the development of child. Talking to parents about body weight and appetite of children should be a fundamental component of child health counseling