Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of CRAFFT Substance Abuse Screening Test among adolescents

Hasan Kandemir,1 Ömer Aydemir,2 Suat Ekinci,3 Salih Selek,4 Sultan B Kandemir,5 Hüseyin Bayazit61Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, 2Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, 3Balikli Rum Hospital, Istanbul, 4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA; 5Department of Psychiatry, Balikligol State Hospital, Sanliurfa, 6Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, TurkeyAim: This study aimed to validate the CRAFFT diagnostic test, against the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition, Axis 1-based diagnostic inventory in a Turkish population of adolescents.Method: The 124 adolescents who were 15–18 years old were enrolled to this study. CRAFFT was self-administered. Interviews took approximately 30 minutes, including the DSM-IV diagnostic interview for alcohol/drug dependence.Results: The mean age of subjects was 16.653 years (minimum: 15 years, maximum: 18 years). A score of 2 or higher in part B was found to be optimal for detecting youths with substance dependence problems (sensitivity: 0.82; specificity: 0.88) and it was sufficiently discriminative.Conclusion: The CRAFFT is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying Turkish-speaking youths at risk for substance use disorders.Keywords: CRAFFT, substance abuse, validity, Turkish, adolescen

Microribonucleic acid dysregulations in children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Hasan Kandemir,1 Mehmet Emin Erdal,2 Salih Selek,3 Özlem İzci Ay,2 İbrahim Fatih Karababa,4 Mustafa Ertan Ay,2 Sultan Basmaci Kandemir,5 Şenay Görücü Yılmaz,2 Suat Ekinci,6 Bahar Taşdelen,7 Hüseyin Bayazit41Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey; 2Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey; 3Harris County Psychiatric Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX, USA; 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey; 5Department of Psychiatry, Balikligöl State Hospital, Sanliurfa, Turkey; 6Department of Psychiatry, Balikli Rum Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey; 7Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, TurkeyAim: Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. Although disorder etiology and pathogenesis remains unknown, several theories about OCD development have been proposed, and many researchers believe that it is caused by both genetic and environmental factors. In the current study, our aim was to investigate miRNA levels in OCD.Methods: In the current study, we evaluated miR18a-5p, miR22-3p, miR24-3p, miR106b-5p, miR107, miR125b-5p, and miR155a-5p levels in child and adolescent OCD patients. The research sample consisted of a group of 23 OCD patients and 40 healthy volunteer controls.Results: There was no significant difference in age and sex between the two groups (P>0.05).The levels of miR22-3p, miR24-3p, miR106b-5p, miR125b-5p, and miR155a-5p were significantly increased in the OCD subjects (P≤0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in miR18a-5p or miR107 levels between groups (P≥0.05).Conclusion: There could be a close relationship between levels of circulating miRNAs and OCD. If we could understand how the signaling pathways arranged by miRNAs impact on central nervous system development, function, and pathology, this understanding could improve our knowledge about OCD etiology and treatment.Keywords: OCD, micro RNA, miRNA, psychiatry, child psychiatr

Evaluation of oxidant, antioxidant, and S100B levels in patients with conversion disorder

Hasan Büyükaslan,1 Sultan Basmacı Kandemir,2 Mehmet Asoğlu,3 Halil Kaya,4 Mehmet Tahir Gökdemir,1 İbrahim Fatih Karababa,3 Fatih Güngörmez,5 Fethiye Kılıçaslan,6 Emin Şavik7 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, 2Department of Psychiatry, Balıklıgöl State Hospital, 3Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, 4Bursa Yüksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa, 5Department of Emergency Medicine, Mehmet Akif İnan Research Hospital, 6Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Sanliurfa, Turkey Introduction: Various psychodynamic, neurobiological, genetic, and sociocultural factors are believed to be involved in the etiology of conversion disorder (CD). Oxidative metabolism has been shown to deteriorate in association with many health problems and psychiatric disorders. We evaluated oxidative metabolism and S100B levels in the context of this multifactorial disease.Methods: Thirty-seven patients with CD (25 females and 12 males) and 42 healthy volunteers (21 females and 21 males), all matched for age and sex, were included in this study. The total oxidant status, total antioxidant status, oxidative stress index, and S100B levels were compared between the two groups.Results: The total oxidant status, oxidative stress index, and S100B levels were significantly higher in patients with CD than in the control group, whereas the total antioxidant status was significantly lower.Conclusion: CD is associated with deterioration of oxidative metabolism and increased neuronal damage. Keywords: conversion disorder, oxidative stress, S100