Impact of aggression, depression, and anxiety levels on quality of life in epilepsy patients

Filiz Izci,1 Ebru Fındıklı,2 Mehmet Akif Camkurt,3 Deniz Tuncel,4 Merve Şahin2 1Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Istanbul Bilim University, Istanbul, 2Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Sütçü İmam University, 3Department of Psychiatry, Afşin State Hospitale, 4Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of aggression levels on the quality of life (QoL) of epilepsy patients. This study was conducted on 66 volunteer control subjects, who were matched by age and sex to the patient group, which consisted of 66 patients who applied to the Psychiatry and Neurology clinics for outpatient treatment, were aged between 18 years and 65 years, and were diagnosed with epilepsy. A sociodemographic and clinical data form designed by us was distributed among the study participants, along with Buss–Perry Aggression Scale, Beck Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Scale, and the Quality of Life Scale Short Form (SF-36). Compared with the control group, the patient group displayed higher scores in all subgroups of Buss–Perry Aggression Scale subscales at a statistically significant level (P<0.05). As per the SF-36 questionnaire, physical functioning, physical role disability, general health perception, social functioning, mental health perception, and pain subscales were statistically lower in the patient group (P<0.05). Significant links between Beck Depression Scale and Beck Anxiety Scale levels, as well as some subscales of QoL and aggression levels, were also determined. In conclusion, epilepsy patients experienced impaired QoL compared with the healthy control group and their QoL was further impaired due to increased levels of anxiety, depression, and aggression. Keywords: aggression, depression, anxiety, quality of life, epileps

Association between sequence variations of the Mediterranean fever gene and the risk of migraine: a case–control study

Salih Coşkun,1 Sefer Varol,2 Hasan H Özdemir,2 Sercan Bulut Çelik,3 Metin Balduz,4 Mehmet Akif Camkurt,5 Abdullah Çim,1 Demet Arslan,2 Mehmet Uğur Çevik2 1Department of Medical Genetics, 2Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, 3Family Health Center, Batman, 4Department of Neurology, Şanlıurfa Education and Research Hospital, Şanlıurfa, 5Department of Psychiatry, Afsin State Hospital, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey Abstract: Migraine pathogenesis involves a complex interaction between hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory pathways, which also influence the migraine phenotype. The Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) encodes the pyrin protein. The major role of pyrin appears to be in the regulation of inflammation activity and the processing of the cytokine pro-interleukin-1β, and this cytokine plays a part in migraine pathogenesis. This study included 220 migraine patients and 228 healthy controls. Eight common missense mutations of the MEFV gene, known as M694V, M694I, M680I, V726A, R761H, K695R, P369S, and E148Q, were genotyped using real-time polymerase chain reaction with 5' nuclease assays, which include sequence specific primers, and probes with a reporter dye. When mutations were evaluated separately among the patient and control groups, only the heterozygote E148Q carrier was found to be significantly higher in the control group than in the patient group (P=0.029, odds ratio [95% confidence interval] =0.45 [0.21–0.94]). In addition, the frequency of the homozygote and the compound heterozygote genotype carrier was found to be significantly higher in patients (n=8, 3.6%) than in the control group (n=1, 0.4%) (P=0.016, odds ratio [95% confidence interval] =8.57 [1.06–69.07]). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the allele frequencies of MEFV mutations between the patients and the healthy control group (P=0.964). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that biallelic mutations in the MEFV gene could be associated with a risk of migraine in the Turkish population. Moreover, MEFV mutations could be related to increased frequency and short durations of migraine attacks (P=0.043 and P=0.021, respectively). Future studies in larger groups and expression analysis of MEFV are required to clarify the role of the MEFV gene in migraine susceptibility. Keywords: MEFV gene, headache, Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), biallelic mutations, pyrin (or marenostrin), aura, single nucleotide polymorphisms&nbsp

Effect of maternal depression on brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in fetal cord blood

Objective: We aimed to assess the association between cord blood brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration and maternal depression during pregnancy. Methods: A total of 48 pregnant women, admitted for elective caesarean section to Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Konya Research and Training Hospital and Konya Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty, were included in this study. The study group included 23 women diagnosed as having depression during pregnancy and the control group included 25 pregnant women who did not experience depression during pregnancy. Results: The groups had similar sociodemographic characteristics. Cord blood BDNF concentration was significantly lower in babies born to mothers with major depression as compared with those in the control group. We didn't find any correlation between the umbilical cord blood BDNF levels and BDI scores. Conclusion: The results suggest that the existence of major depression in pregnant women may negatively affect fetal circulating BDNF levels. © 2019 Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. All rights reserved

Association of Polymorphisms within the Serotonin Receptor Genes 5-HTR1A, 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2A and 5-HTR2C and Migraine Susceptibility in a Turkish Population.

Migraine, a highly prevelant headache disorder, is regarded as a polygenic multifactorial disease. Serotonin (5-HT) and their respective receptors have been implicated in the patogenesis

Association of Polymorphisms within the Serotonin Receptor Genes 5-HTR1A, 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2A and 5-HTR2C and Migraine Susceptibility in a Turkish Population

Objective: Migraine, a highly prevelant headache disorder, is regarded as a polygenic multifactorial disease. Serotonin (5 HT) and their respective receptors have been implicated in the patogenesis. Methods: We investigated the 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C receptor gene polymorphisms and their association with migraine in Turkish patients. The rs6295, rs1300060, rs1228814, rs6311, rs6313, rs6314, rs6318, rs3813929 (-759C/T) and rs518147 polymorphisms were analyzed in 135 patients with migraine and 139 healthy subjects, using a BioMark 96.96 dynamic array system. Results: We found no difference in the frequency of the analyzed eight out of nine polymorpisms between migraine and control groups. However, a significant association was found between the rs3813929 polymorphism in the promoter region of 5-HTR2C gene and migraine. Also, the allele of rs3813929 was more common in the migraine group. Conclusion: This result suggests that the 5-HTR2C rs3813929 polymorphism can be a genetic risk factor for migraine in a Turkish population