The Role of Serotonin in Aggression and Impulsiveness

Serotonin is a neuromodulator that has a critical role on the regulation of essential events in neuronal and glial development, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, and synaptogenesis, and acts as a developmental signal. It has been known that a serotonergic system is associated with many psychiatric disorders. The serotonergic system also predominates on the etiopathogenesis of two important endophenotypes: impulsivity and aggression. Impulsiveness is defined as personality trait and an implusive temperament is associated with clinical conditions such as pathological gambling, eating disorders, and borderline personality disorder as well as being a risk factor for self‐harm, suicide, and emotional liability. Aggression is not a personality trait like impulsivity, but it is the behavior of harm or injury to others. Besides being a natural human behavior toward survival, aggression can be harmful to the individual and the community when it is constant and excessive. In this chapter, we aimed to review the role of the serotonergic system on impulsivity and aggression, which are two important endophenotypes that identified in many psychiatric disorders

Psychopathology in Down Syndrome

The main aim of this section is to provide clinicians with a guide to the prevalence of psychopathologies, associated factors, and their treatment in children with Down syndrome (DS). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioral disorders, depression, and autism are more common in DS than the normal population. However, the incidence of psychopathology is generally lower in DS than in other diseases that cause mental retardation. While writing this chapter, approximately 200 articles in electronic databases were scanned using the keywords “Down Syndrome and Psychopathology,” “Down Syndrome and Mood Disorder,” “Down Syndrome and Autism,” “Down Syndrome and Anxiety,” “Down Syndrome and Catatonia,” and “Down Syndrome and Behavioral Disorder.” Psychopathologies in DS will be presented in eight subtitles beginning with the most often diagnosed. It is important to perform psychological evaluations of patients with DS during routine follow-ups. Comorbid diseases (obstructive sleep apnea, cardiac pathologies, etc.) should be taken into account when choosing drugs

Psychopathology, quality of life, and related factors in children with celiac disease

Objective: This study aimed to survey children with celiac disease (CD) for psychiatric disorders, determine the possible factors that predict psychopathology, and analyze health‐related quality of life and possible factors that could affect the quality of life. Methods: In this study, all children completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children–Present and Lifetime Version–Turkish Version (K‐SADS‐PL‐T), as well as the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) for the 8–12 age group, and a sentence completion test. A face‐to‐face interview was performed with the parents of the participants to inform them about the study. Results: This study included 52 children with celiac disease in the age range of 8–12 years, and 40 healthy children. The mean age of the study group was 10.36 ± 0.36 years, and 31 (59%) of them were females. The mean age of the control group was 10.35 ± 0.46 years and 24 (60%) of them were females. The mean subscale scores of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory were significantly lower in children with celiac disease when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). There was at least one psychiatric disorder in the 26 (50%) children with celiac disease. Conclusions: This study has shown once more that celiac disease is associated with some psychiatric signs/diagnoses, and that it decreased quality of life. Further studies are needed to determine the factors that could reduce the psychiatric signs. It is apparent that those studies would contribute new approaches to improve diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life

Psychopathology, quality of life, and related factors in children with celiac disease

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to survey children with celiac disease (CD) for psychiatric disorders, determine the possible factors that predict psychopathology, and analyze health-related quality of life and possible factors that could affect the quality of life. Methods: In this study, all children completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children - Present and Lifetime Version - Turkish Version (K-SADS-PL-T), as well as the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) for the 8-12 age group, and a sentence completion test. A face-to-face interview was performed with the parents of the participants to inform them about the study. Results: This study included 52 children with celiac disease in the age range of 8-12 years, and 40 healthy children. The mean age of the study group was 10.36 ± 0.36 years, and 31 (59%) of them were females. The mean age of the control group was 10.35 ± 0.46 years and 24 (60%) of them were females. The mean subscale scores of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory were significantly lower in children with celiac disease when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). There was at least one psychiatric disorder in the 26 (50%) children with celiac disease. Conclusions: This study has shown once more that celiac disease is associated with some psychiatric signs/diagnoses, and that it decreased quality of life. Further studies are needed to determine the factors that could reduce the psychiatric signs. It is apparent that those studies would contribute new approaches to improve diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life

Psychiatric problems in children and adolescents with rheumatic heart disease and which factors affect them: A preliminary study

GİRİŞ: Romatizmal kalp hastalığı olan çocuk ve ergenlerde psikiyatrik belirtilerin yanı sıra yaşam kalitesini ve hangi faktörlerin bu psikiyatrik sorunlara katkıda bulunduğunu belirlemeyi amaçladık. GEREÇ ve YÖNTEM: Romatizmal kalp hastalığı olan toplam 25 çocuk ve ergen, ayrıca, 6-16 yaş arası 25 çocuk ve ergen kontrol grubu olarak dahil edildi. Okul Çağı Çocukları ç n Duygulanım Bozuklukları ve zofren Gör şme Ç zelges - imdi ve Yaşamboyu ekli (ÇD G- Y) t m çocuk ve ergenlerin ebeveynlerine uygulandı ve Çocuklarda Depresyon Envanteri, Spielberger Durumluluk ve S reklilik Kaygı Envanteri ve KINDLR Anketi Çocuk ve Ergenlerde Sağlığa lişkin Yaşam Kalitesinin Ölç lmesi için t m çocuk ve ergenlere uygulanmıştır. Anneleri değerlendirmek için, Beck Depresyon Envanteri, Beck Anksiyete Envanteri ve Beş Faktör Kişilik Envanteri kullanılmıştır. BULGULAR: Romatizmal kalp hastalığı olan çocuk ve ergenlerde anksiyete puanlarının ve anksiyete bozukluğu tanısının y ksek olduğunu bulduk (p <0.05). Annelerin kaygı puanları, depresyon puanları ve kişilik özellikleri KINDL alt ölçekleri ile ilişkili idi ve kişilik özelliklerinden nevrotiklik puanları da Çocuk Depresyon Ölçeği puanları ile ilişkili olarak bulundu. Ayrıca, psikiyatrik bozukluk varlığının, Beck anksiyete skorları ile tahmin edilebildiğini bulduk. SONUÇ: Sonuçlarımız, psikiyatrik değerlendirmenin, romatizmal kalp hastalığı olan çocukların ve ergenlerin ve ebeveynlerinin tedavisinde önemli olduğunu göstermektedir.INTRODUCTION: We aimed to evaluate the psychiatric symptoms in addition to quality of life in children and adolescents with rheumatic heart disease, and to determine which factors contribute to psychiatric problems of them. MATERIALS and METHODS: A total of 25 children and adolescents with rheumatic heart disease, additionally, 25 children and adolescents with typical developing controls aged 6–16 years old were included. Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, (present and life time version – K-SADS-PL) was applied to parents of all of the children and adolescents, and Child Depression Inventory, The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for children KINDLR Questionnaire for Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents were applied to all of the children and adolescents. Assessment for mothers, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Five Factor Personality Inventory were used. RESULTS: We found higher anxiety scores and increased anxiety disorder diagnosis among children and adolescents with rheumatic heart disease (p<0.05). Mothers’ anxiety scores, depression scores, and personality traits are associated with KINDL subscales, and neuroticism scores are also associated with Child Depression Inventory scores. In addition, presence of psychiatric disorder was predicted by Beck anxiety scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that psychiatric evalution is important in the treatment of children and adolescents and their parents with rheumatic heart disease

Türkiye’nin farklı bölgelerinde otizmli çocuğu olan ailelerin aşılar hakkındaki bilgi düzeylerinin, aşı reddinin sıklığının, ve nedenlerinin araştırılması.

Amaç: Otizm spektrum bozukluğu (OSB), erken çocukluk dönemlerinde sosyal etkileşim ve iletişim becerilerinde yetersizlik, kısıtlı ilgi alanı ve stereotipik davranış örüntüleri ile karakterize nörogelişimsel önemli bir bozukluktur. Bu çalışmanın amacı OSB tanısı almış çocuğu olan ebeveynlerin aşılar hakkında genel bilgilerini ölçme, aşıya karşı tutumlarını belirleme, aşı karşıtlığının oranı ve nedenlerini saptamaktır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışma, OSB tanılı çocukları olan ebeveynlerden birisi ile, yüz yüze görüşmek sureti ile, anket yaparak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgular: Elde edilen verilere göre; kontrol grubu ile karşılaştırıldığında, otizmli çocukları olan ebeveynlerin; aşılar hakkındaki bilgi düzeylerinin, ve aşı reddi tercihlerinin daha yüksek olduğu, aşıların içeriklerinden daha çok şüphe duydukları, özellikle canlı virus aşılaması ile otizmin başlaması arasında, zamansal ilişki olduğuna inandıkları belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: OSB tanılı çocukların rutin çocuk-ergen psikiyatristleri tarafından, rutin kontrollerinde; ailelerin aşılar hakkındaki düşünceleri, kaygıları ve kaçınmaları değerlendirilmelidir

Real Life Experience Regarding Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcome in Non-Cutaneous Peripheral T Cell Lymphomas: A Multicenter Study of Turkish Hematology Research and Education Group (Threg).

OBJECTIVE: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are an uncommon and quite heterogeneous group of disorders, representing only 10%-15% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Although both molecular and clinical studies have increased in recent years, we still have little knowledge regarding real-life practice with PTCLs. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of a large population-based cohort of patients presenting with systemic non-cutaneous PTCL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis of 190 patients consecutively diagnosed and treated with non-cutaneous PTCLs between 2008 and 2016. RESULTS: Considering all first-line treatment combinations, the overall response rate was 65.9% with 49.4% complete remission (n=81) and 16.5% partial response (n=27). The 5-year overall survival and event-free survival rates were significantly different between the transplant and non-transplant groups (p<0.01, and p=0.033, respectively). CONCLUSION: The retrospective analysis of a large volume of real-life data on the Turkish experience regarding non-cutaneous PTCL patients showed consistent results compared to other unselected PTCL cohorts with some minor differences in terms of survival and transplantation outcomes. The long-term outcome of patients who receive autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation as part of upfront consolidation or salvage therapy is favorable compared to patients who are unable to receive high-dose therapy