Detection of α-Thalassemia by Using Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification as an Additional Method for Rare Mutations in Southern Turkey

α-thalassemia is the most common single gene disorder in the Cukurova Region in Turkey. It is therefore routinely screened, including premaritally, in our region. The heterogeneous molecular basis of the disease makes α-thalassemia mutation detection difficult and complex. Besides well established methods, multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is known as an effective, simple and specific method for the detection and characterization of deletions and duplications. We employed MLPA testing to 30 patients with hematological parameters suggestive of α-thalassemia carrier status but was negative for α-thalassemia with conventional reverse dot blot hybridization (RDB). We found α-globin gene deletions in 3 out of 30 (10 %) patients with MLPA. We propose that MLPA can be used as a second tier test in addition to other techniques such as RDB to identify α-thalassemia carriers in high prevalence regions such as ours, thereby allowing clinicians to provide accurate genetic counselling

Electroconvulsive Therapy: An Update

Effects and side effects of electroconvulsive therapy have been a subject of debate since the begininng of its use to treat psychiatric disorders. As its antidepressant mechanism of action have been topic of many researches, many valuable findings were obtained ever since. However, methodological differences and different application protocols limited the accumulation of scientific data. Anticonvulsant effect and elevation of seizure threshold have been taken as outcome measures in many researches although it is still controversial. Some variables of treated disorders also may have affected researches. The aim of this article was to investigate current literature regarding application protocols and mechanism of action of electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive Therapy: An Update

Effects and side effects of electroconvulsive therapy have been a subject of debate since the begininng of its use to treat psychiatric disorders. As its antidepressant mechanism of action have been topic of many researches, many valuable findings were obtained ever since. However, methodological differences and different application protocols limited the accumulation of scientific data. Anticonvulsant effect and elevation of seizure threshold have been taken as outcome measures in many researches although it is still controversial. Some variables of treated disorders also may have affected researches. The aim of this article was to investigate current literature regarding application protocols and mechanism of action of electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy combined with antipsychotic therapy in the treatment of acute schizophrenia inpatients: symptom profile of the clinical response

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) combined with antipsychotic (AP) medication on symptom profile in patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who had received acute psychiatric inpatient treatment. METHODS: In this prospective study, patients were evaluated for inclusion in the study who were diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and were to receive ECT. The patients were evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), and Clinical Global Impression – Improvement (CGI-I) sub-scale before the first session ECT, once following every two subsequent sessions and after the final session. RESULTS: The patients showed significant improvements in BPRS scores at each evaluation compared with their scores at baseline, and a significant clinical improvement was found on the CGI-I sub-scale at the end of treatment. Across all SAPS sub-scores, significant decreases were found, and the symptoms related to hallucinations and positive formal thought disorder showed the most rapid response to treatment. Across all SANS sub-scores, significant decreases were found, and affective flattening or blunting symptoms responded most rapidly to treatment. CONCLUSION: One of the most important findings in the present study of hospitalized patients with acute schizophrenia was the good response to treatment, which provided significant improvements in both positive and negative symptoms. The most rapid response to treatment was found for hallucinations, positive formal thought disorder, and affective flattening or blunting symptoms. The most important limitation of our study may be the small number of cases. In future, well-standardized studies using a double-blinded, comparative, prospective design and including a sufficient number of patients are needed

Electroconvulsive therapy or clozapine for adolescents with treatment-resistant schizophrenia: an explorative analysis on symptom dimensions

ObjectiveThis study sought to compare pre-intervention patient characteristics and post-intervention outcomes in a naturalistic sample of adolescent inpatients with treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms who received either electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or clozapine.MethodsData of adolescents with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder receiving ECT or clozapine were retrospectively collected from two tertiary-care psychiatry-teaching university hospitals. Subscale scores of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) factors were calculated according to the five-factor solution. Baseline demographics, illness characteristics, and post-intervention outcomes were compared.ResultsThere was no significant difference between patients receiving ECT (n = 13) and clozapine (n = 66) in terms of age, sex, and the duration of hospital stay. The ECT group more commonly had higher overall illness and aggression severity. Smoking was less frequent in the clozapine group. Baseline resistance/excitement symptom severity was significantly higher in the ECT group, while positive, negative, affect, disorganisation, and total symptom scores were not. Both interventions provided a significant reduction in PANSS scores with large effect sizes.ConclusionBoth ECT and clozapine yielded high effectiveness rates in adolescents with treatment-resistant schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Youth receiving ECT were generally more activated than those who received clozapine