The Influence of the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome on Depression, Anxiety, and Quality of Life

Introduction: Psychiatric diseases may co-exist with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). We examined the presence of this comorbidity on the quality of life and sexual life, and the beneficial effects of OSAS treatment. Materials and Methods: A total of 79 consecutive patients newly admitted to the Sleep Disorders Unit were investigated with a psychiatric interview and whole-night polysomnography. DSM-IV-TR criteria were used and the Beck Depression and Anxiety Scales (BDS and BAS), the 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36), and the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) were administered. After one month of treatment with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, all investigations were repeated. Results: Of 48 patients with OSAS, major depression was present in 13 patients (27%), anxiety disorders in 3 patients (6.2%), and major depression and anxiety disorders were both present in 11 patients (22.9%). Following one month of OSAS treatment, major depression was observed in 5 patients (10.4%), anxiety disorder in 1 patient (2.0%), and both major depression and anxiety disorder (p=0.001) were found in 9 patients (18.7%). After treatment, significant improvements were detected in both BDS (p=0.001) and BAS scores (p=0.002). There was no significant difference in ASEX scores (p=0.165). Comparison of SF36 sub-scales scores before and after OSAS treatment demonstrated significant improvements in quality of life measures. The significance was more pronounced in patients with severe OSAS. Discussion: It is of great importance to keep in mind the comorbidity of OSAS and psychiatric diseases such as drug resistant depression and anxiety disorders, as treatment of OSAS provides a marked benefit in depression, anxiety, and also in quality of life

Re-emergent Tongue Tremor as the Presenting Symptom of Parkinson’s Disease

Background: The most common symptom of Parkinson’s disease is the unilateral, typically resting tremor in body parts, most commonly in the upper extremities. However, this finding can spread to the other parts of the body like lips, chin, jaw and tongue during the course of the disease. Nevertheless, we have not come across any Parkinson’s disease case presenting with tongue tremor in the literature. Case Report: Here, we present a 58 year-old man with Parkinson’s disease presenting with tongue tremor, his striking response to the levodopa test and his follow-up data. Conclusion: The topography of motor symptoms at onset in Parkinson’s disease is presumably determined by the severity of the Lewy body neuronal degeneration in distinct parts of the substantia nigra. Therefore, patterns of somatic symptom progression in Parkinson’s disease indicate that involvement of the cranial structures always follows the development of symptoms in the extremities. However, in our case, cranial structures seem to precede the involvement of extremity-related areas

Re-emergent Tongue Tremor as the Presenting Symptom of Parkinson’s Disease

Background: The most common symptom of Parkinson’s disease is the unilateral, typically resting tremor in body parts, most commonly in the upper extremities. However, this finding can spread to the other parts of the body like lips, chin, jaw and tongue during the course of the disease. Nevertheless, we have not come across any Parkinson’s disease case presenting with tongue tremor in the literature. Case Report: Here, we present a 58 year-old man with Parkinson’s disease presenting with tongue tremor, his striking response to the levodopa test and his follow-up data. Conclusion: The topography of motor symptoms at onset in Parkinson’s disease is presumably determined by the severity of the Lewy body neuronal degeneration in distinct parts of the substantia nigra. Therefore, patterns of somatic symptom progression in Parkinson’s disease indicate that involvement of the cranial structures always follows the development of symptoms in the extremities. However, in our case, cranial structures seem to precede the involvement of extremity-related areas

Deneysel etanol uygulamasında darbepoetin alfanın beyin dokusu oksidatif stresi üzerine etkileri

İstanbul Bilim Üniversitesi, Tıp Fakültesi.Objectives: The hyperglycosylated erythropoietin analogue darbepoetin alpha (α) has longer half-life and higher in vivo activity. There is no data about the effects of darbepoetin-α on ethanol-induced oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the effects of darbepoetin-α on brain tissue oxidant/antioxidant status and nitric oxide levels in experimental ethanol administration. Patients and Methods: Forty-four adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into groups: salinetreated group (S) (n=10), saline and darbepoetintreated group (D) (10 μg/kg) (n=10), experimental ethanol-administered [2.5 g/kg (2.6 ml/kg) twice at 2-hr intervals] group (E) (n=12), ethanol-administered and darbepoetin-treated group (ED) (n=12).Amaç: Eritropoetin analoğu darbepoetin alfa, yarı ömrü uzun ve in vivo yüksek aktiviteye sahip bir moleküldür. Alkolün etkili olduğu organizmada darbepoetinin etkisi henüz ortaya konulmamıştır. Bu çalışmada, deneysel etanol uygulamasında darbepoetin alfanın beyin dokusu oksidan/antioksidan denge ve nitrik oksit seviyesi üzerine etkilerini araştırdık. Hastalar ve Yöntemler: Kırk dört erişkin erkek Wistar Albino sıçan raslantısal olarak gruplara ayrıldı: %0.9 NaCl uygulanan grup (S) (n=10), %0.9 NaCl ve darbepoetin verilen grup (D) (10 μg /kg) (n=10), deneysel etanol uygulaması yapılan [2.5 g/kg (2.6 ml/kg) 2-saatlik aralıklar ile iki defa] grup (E) (n=12), etanol uygulanan ve darbepoetin verilen grup (ED) (n=12)