Amisulpride treatment of adolescent patients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorders

In this article, our aim was to share our clinical experience regarding the effectiveness and the side effects of amisulpride treatment in adolescent cases. We reviewed all the cases who had amisulpride treatment during their stay in a newly opened in-patient unit, and three female cases who had undergone amisulpride treatment. We observed that the drug was effective and caused side effects like galactorrhea due to increased prolactin levels, which were not severe enough to terminate the treatment. Our clinical experience provides preliminary evidence that amisulpride might be an effective antipsychotic drug for adolescent cases. However, it caused considerable side effects

How Long Does the Recovery Last with Inpatient Treatment of Child and Adolescents?

Objective: Although it is widely accepted that inpatient psychiatric treatment of children and adolescents is effective, it is also essential to evaluate its effectiveness by assessing the treatment compliance following discharge and the persistence of treatment effects in the long run. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of inpatient treatment provided in one of the rare units in our country via evaluation of the achievement of treatment goals, changes in risk assessment scores, treatment compliance following discharge, and psychological functioning as reflected in the current relationships with the family, peers and school

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Services in Turkey: Is There a Need and Are They Effective?

Objective: Inpatient care is the most widely used intensive care component of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) internationally. In some studies, child and adolescent inpatient care has been shown to be effective and remains a neccesary function of a comprehensive child and adolescent mental health service. Our aim is to examine the treatment outcome of our newly opened CAMHS inpatient unit in terms of patients functioning levels via key variables which were measured at two time periods, namely (i) at admission to the unit and (ii) at discharge

Finding Help: TurkisH-speaking Refugees and Migrants with a History of Psychosis

There is a large population of Turkish-speaking migrants living in London, many of whom are refugees (Enneli, Modood, & Bradley, 2005). Primary care and secondary mental health services have consistently reported poor continuity of care among patients from this community. The aim of this study was to explore the possible interconnection of causal attributions and pathways into care among Turkish-speaking, mainly Kurdish, patients with a past history of psychosis. Narratives of illness were elicited from informants. Physical symptomatology was a prominent feature of presentation in this group. These patients did not discuss their health problems conceptualized as uniform ‘models' of illness, but rather in an attributional style that emphasized the experience of traumatic life events, often related to the overarching problem of exile and settlement. Childhood and family issues of poverty and domestic violence were often raised by patients, but tended to be backgrounded as having little contributory significance. These patients sought intervention, serially or in combination, from a diverse range of practitioners, including private healthcare and traditional healers or hocas. Their explanatory models of illness were complex and fragmentary and the relationship between explanations and help seeking is seldom linear. The implications of these findings for health services are discussed. © 2007, Sage Publications. All rights reserved

The Level of Clinical Improvement in Sexually Abused Children Admitted to an Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit

Objective: Child sexual abuse is a major psychosocial problem, often leading to lifelong adverse consequences and impairments for the victims. The association between child abuse and psychiatric diagnosis has been shown via cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The aim of this study was to measure, and determine the clinical improvement in patients who had been diagnosed with child sexual abuse and received inpatient treatment in a child and adolescent mental health unit

Maternal psychosocial aspects in hypernatremic dehydration with high sodium concentrations in breast milk: A case-control study

Objective: To investigate whether mothers, with no known biological reason to account for elevated breast milk sodium (BMS) and associated hypernatremic dehydration (HND) in their exclusively breastfed infants, have more adverse psychosocial characteristics compared with controls

Psychometric properties of Parenting and Family Adjustment Scale (PAFAS) in a Turkish sample with parents of 2-12 years old children from both community and clinical sample

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of Parenting and Family Adjustment Scale (PAFAS) to measure parenting skills and family adjustment in Turkish Parents. Method: The sample of our study consisted of the parents of children between the ages of 2-12. The clinical sample is from 201 mothers or fathers who were in the first 1-month evaluation process at the Dokuz Eylul University Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic; the population sample consisted of 202 mothers or fathers living in Balcova. For test-retest measurement, the test was re administered to 58 parents in the community sample two weeks later. Psychometric properties of the scale were compared to Parenting Styles and Dimensions Scale, Marriage Life Scale and General Health Questionnaire. Results: Internal consistency of Parenting subscale were found "quite reliable" and Family Adjustment subscale were found "highly reliable". There was no significant difference in the test-retest application of the PAFAS Turkish Form subscale and factor structures. PAFAS Turkish Form has high power to differentiate community and clinical samples; has a five-factor structure validity. It was determined that it has concurrent criterion validity with Parenting Styles and Dimensions Scale, Marriage Life Scale and General Health Questionnaire. Discussion: In this study, it has been found that the Turkish version of PAFAS is a good valid and reliable scale for screening multiple domains of family functioning

Do serum BDNF levels vary in self-harm behavior among adolescents and are they correlated with traumatic experiences?

The aim of this study was to compare serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels between adolescents that harm themselves, those that receive psychiatric treatment but do not harm themselves, healthy adolescents, and childhood traumas and to investigate the relationship between traumatic experiences and serum BDNF levels. The cases were divided into two groups of 40 adolescents exhibiting self-harm behavior (self-harm/diagnosed group) and 30 adolescents receiving psychiatric treatment but not exhibiting self-harm behaviors (non self-harm/diagnosed group). The control group (healthy control group) consisted of 35 healthy adolescents with no psychiatric disorders or self-harm behaviors. The adolescents were asked to fill in the Inventory of Statements About Self Injury (ISAS) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). For BDNF measurement, blood samples were taken from the cases and controls. The serum BDNF level of self-harming adolescents who used the self-cutting method was significantly lower than that of other groups, and serum BDNF levels decreased with the increase in the emotional neglect and abuse severity of self-harming adolescents during childhood. In our study, serum BDNF levels decreased with the increase in emotional abuse in self-harming adolescents. This finding may indicate that neuroplasticity can be affected by a negative emotional environment during the early period

Finding Help: Turkish-speaking Refugees and Migrants with a History of Psychosis

There is a large population of Turkish-speaking migrants living in London, many of whom are refugees (Enneli, Modood, & Bradley, 2005). Primary care and secondary mental health services have consistently reported poor continuity of care among patients from this community. The aim of this study was to explore the possible interconnection of causal attributions and pathways into care among Turkish-speaking, mainly Kurdish, patients with a past history of psychosis. Narratives of illness were elicited from informants. Physical symptomatology was a prominent feature of presentation in this group. These patients did not discuss their health problems conceptualized as uniform ‘models' of illness, but rather in an attributional style that emphasized the experience of traumatic life events, often related to the overarching problem of exile and settlement. Childhood and family issues of poverty and domestic violence were often raised by patients, but tended to be backgrounded as having little contributory significance. These patients sought intervention, serially or in combination, from a diverse range of practitioners, including private healthcare and traditional healers or hocas. Their explanatory models of illness were complex and fragmentary and the relationship between explanations and help seeking is seldom linear. The implications of these findings for health services are discussed. © 2007, Sage Publications. All rights reserved