Symptomatic Remission Determines Functional Improvement and Quality of Life in Schizophrenia

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that negatively affects the quality of life and psychosocial functions. Defined criteria to assess remission in schizophrenia are considered to be useful in the longterm follow-up of patients and in discriminating diagnostic factors. This study investigated the quality of life and functionality in schizophrenia patients in symptomatic remission (R-Sch) and not in remission (Non-R-Sch). Methods: Sociodemographic data were collected for 40 R-Sch and 40 Non-R-Sch patients, and the following scales were administered: the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) Scale; Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR), Quality of Life Scale for Schizophrenia Patients (QLS), and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Results: The total and all subscale scores of PANSS and the CGI-S score were significantly lower in the R-Sch group than in the Non-R-Sch group, whereas the GAF scores and all subscales of QLS and WHOQOL-BREF-TR were significantly higher. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that improvement in symptoms in schizophrenia patients improves quality and functionality in all areas of life, suggesting that an improvement in symptoms is the most important determinant of functional recovery in the treatment of schizophrenia

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN PARENTS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE CANDIDATES FOR LIVER TRANSPLANTATION

ABSTRACT Background The primary stress factor for families in the pre-transplant period is reported as the waiting time for suitable organs, leading to anxiety, despair, and distress. Objective We investigated the psychosocial factors, anxiety and depression, in the parents of children who are candidates for liver transplantation. Methods Thirty-five pediatric liver transplantation candidates and their 38 parents, from February to August 2014, were included. Participants were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI). Results We found that a significant number of parents (n=25, 65.7%) were diagnosed with clinical psychiatric disease: 18.4% (n=7) with depression and 47.3% (n=18) with anxiety disorders. There was a significant difference in the examination scores of parents between genders (P <0.05). There was also a significant difference in CGI and HAM-D scores of parents relative to the history and presence of liver disease (P<0.05). Conclusion The rate of these disorders was high in relation to the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in the community reported in the literature. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate psychosocial factors of parents of all transplant candidate children as a part of routine care so that the high-risk to family members and to enable early intervention

The Relationship Between the Response to Risperidone Treatment and 5-HT2A Receptor Gene (T102C and 1438G/A) Polymorphism in Schizophrenia

Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between treatment response to risperidone, an antipsychotic, and 1438 G/A and T102C polymorphism of 5-HT2A receptor gene. Method: All patients were evaluated by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the assessment of negative symptoms (SANS), and the assessment of positive symptoms (SAPS). Assessment with the BPRS, SANS, and SAPS scales were evaluated at each interview (days- 0, 60). Our sample was composed of 63 unrelated subjects who strictly met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia and all were of Turkish origin. Results: The patients who had homozygous for T/T genotype was found to give better response to risperidone treatment than the patients who were C/C and C/T genotypes with respect to their SANS and BPRS scores (x2=10.61, p=0.005; x2=5.99, p=0.05). Similarly the patients who had homozygous for A/A genotype was found to give better response to risperidone treatment than the patients who had G/A and G/G genotypes with respect to SANS and BPRS scores (x2=11.58, p=0.003; x2=6.59, p=0.037). No significant difference was found between the treatment response according and 1438 G/A and T102C polymorphisms of 5-HT2A receptor gene with respect to the SAPS scores (p> 0.05). Conclusions: T102C and 1438G/A polymorphisms of 5-HT2A receptor gene can be used as markers in the prediction of responses to risperidone treatment in schizophrenic patients. Further clinical studies in the investigation of the relationship between the response to atypical antipsychotic agents and the genotypes of T102C and 1438 G/A polymorphisms of 5-HT2A receptor gene in schizophrenic patients are needed.

High ceruloplasmin levels are associated with obsessive compulsive disorder: a case control study

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Symptomatic Remission Determines Functional Improvement and Quality of Life in Schizophrenia

WOS: 000391572500008PubMed: 28360807Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that negatively affects the quality of life and psychosocial functions. Defined criteria to assess remission in schizophrenia are considered to be useful in the longterm follow-up of patients and in discriminating diagnostic factors. This study investigated the quality of life and functionality in schizophrenia patients in symptomatic remission (R-Sch) and not in remission (NonR- Sch). Methods: Sociodemographic data were collected for 40 R-Sch and 40 Non-R-Sch patients, and the following scales were administered: the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) Scale; Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire-Short Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR), Quality of Life Scale for Schizophrenia Patients (QLS), and Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Results: the total and all subscale scores of PANSS and the CGI-S score were significantly lower in the R-Sch group than in the NonR- Sch group, whereas the GAF scores and all subscales of QLS and WHOQOL-BREF-TR were significantly higher. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that improvement in symptoms in schizophrenia patients improves quality and functionality in all areas of life, suggesting that an improvement in symptoms is the most important determinant of functional recovery in the treatment of schizophrenia

Turkish patients

Background: Although there is an increasing number of publications about the involvement of angiotensin convening enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in mood disorders, none of them has been able to show any linkage between allele or genotypic distributions and schizophrenia. However, there are number of reports associating brain and cerebrospinal fluid ACE levels with schizophrenia.Aim: We investigated the possibility of an association between ACE I/D polymorphism and schizophrenia.Method: Our study comprised 155 unrelated subjects who strictly met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, and 174 healthy unrelated controls, all were of Turkish origin. The analysis of ACE polymorphism was performed using an established polymerase chain reaction method.Results: The I/I genotype of ACE significantly less frequent and I/D genotype was more frequent in schizophrenic patients compared to the controls (p=0.015). This difference was mostly due to the significant difference in men but not in women. The ACE genotypes did not differ between clinical subgroups of schizophrenia (p=0.10).Conclusion: The results of our study suggests that ACE I/I polymorphism is associated with schizophrenia at least in this group of Turkish patients

Decreased Superoxide Dismutase Activity after ECT and Correlation between Higher Oxidant Levels and Poor Response to ECT in Depression

Objective: The literature regarding effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on oxidative metabolism (OM) reports conflicting changes in oxidant and antioxidant status in animal studies. The goal of this first human study was to investigate the changes in oxidants and antioxidants in plasma of depressed patients after ECT