The relationship of psychological trauma with trichotillomania and skin picking

Eylem Özten,1 Gökben Hızlı Sayar,1 Gül Eryilmaz,1 Gaye Kağan,2 Sibel Işik,3 Oğuz Karamustafalioğlu4 1Neuropsychiatry Health, Practice, and Research Center, Üsküdar University, 2Istanbul Neuropsychiatry Hospital, Üsküdar University, 3Turkish Red Crescent Altintepe Medical Center, 4Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Üsküdar University, Istanbul, Turkey Objective: Interactions between psychological, biological and environmental factors are important in development of trichotillomania and skin picking. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of traumatic life events, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation in patients with diagnoses of trichotillomania and skin picking disorder.Methods: The study included patients who was diagnosed with trichotillomania (n=23) or skin picking disorder (n=44), and healthy controls (n=37). Beck Depression Inventory, Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale and Dissociative Experiences Scale were administered. All groups checked a list of traumatic life events to determine the exposed traumatic events.Results: There was no statistical significance between three groups in terms of Dissociative Experiences Scale scores (P=0.07). But Beck Depression Inventory and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale scores of trichotillomania and skin picking groups were significantly higher than the control group. Subjects with a diagnosis of trichotillomania and skin picking reported statistically significantly higher numbers of traumatic and negative events in childhood compared to healthy subjects.Conclusion: We can conclude that trauma may play a role in development of both trichotillomania and skin picking. Increased duration of trichotillomania or skin picking was correlated with decreased presence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. The reason for the negatively correlation of severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms and self-harming behavior may be speculated as developing trichotillomania or skin picking symptoms helps the patient to cope with intrusive thoughts related to trauma. Future longitudinal research must focus on whether trauma and post-traumatic stress or trichotillomania and skin picking precede the development of mental disorder. Keywords: psychological trauma, trichotillomania, skin picking&nbsp

Co-morbidity of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia

Objective: This study evaluated the clinical and sociodemographic features associated with concurrent Axis I psychiatric disorders among adult psychiatric outpatients with panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia (AG). Method: This was a retrospective chart review study of 12.980 patients treated for any psychiatric disorders in psychiatric outpatient clinics. Diagnoses of comorbid disorders were determined in a sample of 478 patients with panic disorder as defined in DSM-IV. The subjects were divided into two groups: patients panic disorder with AG (n=221) and panic disorder without AG (n=254). Sociodemographic variables, illness characteristics such as symptoms, duration of illnes and family history of psychiatric disorders were evaluated. Results: Panic disorder was prevalent among 3.7 % of the sample. The most common Axis I psychiatric disorders among groups were major depressive disorder (21.7 %) and generalized anxiety disorder (8.9 %). The prevalence of other psychiatric disorders in present study was as follows: social phobia 7.3 %; obsessive-compulsive disorder 4.6 %; posttraumatic stress disorder 4.6 %; eating disorders 1.46 %; alcohol abuse/dependence 4.6 %; somatoform disorders 0.85 %; bipolar disorder 0.6 %; dysthymic disorder 2.3 % and impulse control disorder 0.4 %. Female subjects have higher comorbid conditions compared to males. Those with more concurrent Axis I conditions had longer histories of PD and younger age of onset. © Universitätsverlag Ulm GmbH 2007

Assessing cytotoxic activities, theoretical and <i>in silico</i> molecular docking calculations of phthalocyanines bearing cinnamyloxy-groups

Cancer has been recognized as one of the deadliest diseases in the world in recent years. By chemically tailoring specific properties, anticancer agents can be prepared very effectively for the treatment of various cancer types. In this manner, as anticancer agents, a series of soluble metal-free and metallophthalocyanines carrying cinnamyloxy-groups at peripheral β-positions have been prepared. All synthesized phthalocyanines were characterized by various spectroscopic approaches such as ultraviolet − visible (UV − Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and matrix-assisted laser deionization/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) techniques. These compounds are highly soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and soluble in common organic solvents. The spectroscopic properties, cytotoxicity, and theoretical calculations of these complexes have been investigated. In cytotoxicity tests, compounds 1, 4, and 7 are the most active against HT-29 cell lines with IC50 values of 36.9 μM, 32.5 μM, and 51.1 μM, respectively. Also, the most and the least cytotoxic compounds against healthy CCD cell line is compounds 5 and 6 with the IC50 value of 13.4 μM and >250 μM, respectively. The PDB ID:4BQG target protein representing the HT-29 cancer cell line and the anti-cancer activities of phthalonitrile and its phthalocyanines were supported by molecular docking studies. Density Functional Theory (DFT) study supported the experimental results, including the spectral data, and implied that the compounds 5-7 are comparable by their characteristics, such as electronic properties, optical properties, electrostatic potentials, reactivity parameters, with the earlier studied compounds 2-4, which were successfully proved to be good candidates for cancer treatment. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma</p