EVALUATION OF SCL-90R AND IT'S SHORT FORMS IN PATIENTS WITH VERTIGO

Objective: Psychiatric symptom screening tests for patients who suffer from imbalance and dizziness are generally used in majority of clinics. Symptom checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90R) is one of these tests. The aims of this study are to analyze the Turkish version of SCL-90R, compare to its short version and investigate whether if it is possible to create a short version or not.Material and Method: The sample of this study consisted of 2100 patients who admitted to tertiary care neurotology department for imbalance and dizziness. Three different SCL-90R versions as the original, Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and Brief Symptom checklist-18 (BSI-18) were retrospectively studied. These three tests were evaluated with regards to global severity index, totalpositive symptoms and positive symptom index. The correlation between results were compared by Pearson correlation test. Structural integrity studies were also conducted with using raw data of SCL-90R.Results: There were strong correlations among the three questionnaires. While the structural distribution of questions are consisted of 10 factors in the standard form (SCL-90), the short form (containing 49 questions) which was created from our results was found to have different structural distribution. Moreover the distribution of questions were quite different than the actual structure and the questions from different factors were grouped under different factors. The short form, which was created from our results, showed similar properties with the BSI. The internal consistency reliability test showed significance for 9 of them. Eventually, we created a short form consisting of 9 factors and 49 questions. In this state, it shows similar features with BSI and contains a similar number of questions.Conclusion: Due to the difference in structural analysis, the results obtained by the sub-scales of the questionnaires should be evaluated very carefully. We think the short form we created can be used easily since the general values resulted from it are comparable to the the original questionnaire

among the university students

Objective: The aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between internet addiction (IA) and smoking and alcohol use among university students. Method: 2096 students attending Pamukkale University were included in the study. Data collection tools were, Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), CAGE Test and Sociodemographic Data Form which was formed by the study authors for the present study to collect data about the student's age, sex, alcohol and cigarette use history and internet use characteristics (time spent online, type etc.). Results: The prevalence of internet addiction was found as 8.6% in our study group. Higher rates of smoking and alcohol use were found among students with internet addiction. In addition, students who smoke and use alcohol had significantly higher IAS scores compared to the students without alcohol or cigarette use. In our study positive relationship was found between IAS scores and CAGE scores. The frequency of alcohol use was found to increase significantly as the IAS scores increase. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the daily cigarette consumption amount. However, the average time spent on cigarette use was significantly higher in the group with internet addiction. In addition IAS scores were found to increase significantly as the smoking year and the amount of daily cigarette smoking increased. Discussion: According to the findings of our study, internet addiction seems to be a common problem among university students. Internet addiction was found to be associated with smoking and alcohol use

Mega-dose lorazepam addiction and withdrawal symptoms

The fact that health policies in developing countries make it easier to access drugs (controlled substances), might result in addiction and dependence problems despite initial treatment purposes for drug intake. Benzodiazepines are drugs that have been widely prescribed and have been classified as controlled drugs. In this clinical case report, a patient is described who began to use lorazepam, developed tolerance and dependence to mega-dose of drug because of easy access to drug. The patient has used lorazepam approximately for six months as he gradually increased dose up to 220 mg/day. His efforts to drop the drug was unsuccessful and subsequently he applied to emergency service because of disturbing withdrawal symptoms. He showed initial withdrawal symptoms of severe restlessness, hyperpnea, sweating, headache, anxiety, and irritability which were succesfully controlled in the second day. Seizure or any other life threatening adverse effect were not observed during treatment. The health policies in developing countries should be arranged strictly to control availability and access to controlled drugs even by prescribed patients in order to avoid development of addiction in such cases

Mega-dose lorazepam addiction and withdrawal symptoms

The fact that health policies in developing countries make it easier to access drugs (controlled substances), might result in addiction and dependence problems despite initial treatment purposes for drug intake. Benzodiazepines are drugs that have been widely prescribed and have been classified as controlled drugs. In this clinical case report, a patient is described who began to use lorazepam, developed tolerance and dependence to mega-dose of drug because of easy access to drug. The patient has used lorazepam approximately for six months as he gradually increased dose up to 220 mg/day. His efforts to drop the drug was unsuccessful and subsequently he applied to emergency service because of disturbing withdrawal symptoms. He showed initial withdrawal symptoms of severe restlessness, hyperpnea, sweating, headache, anxiety, and irritability which were succesfully controlled in the second day. Seizure or any other life threatening adverse effect were not observed during treatment. The health policies in developing countries should be arranged strictly to control availability and access to controlled drugs even by prescribed patients in order to avoid development of addiction in such cases

Disorder

Modafinil is generally known as a drug with low addiction potential. There are few case reports in the literature demonstrating that Modafinil, stated being capable of diminishing symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), causes addiction. In the present article a Modafinil addicted ADHD case, consuming usurious doses (5,000 mg/per day) of Modafinil is presented. The case presented to our psychiatry outpatient clinic due to: requirement of in taking high dose Modafinil in order to achieve the initial effects, difficulty in obtaining the drug, irritability, anxiousness, sleep irregularities, fatigue and unpleasant vivid dreams when he did not use the drug. It was realized that the patient, himself increased doses of Modafinil incrementally, in order to keep its effects on attention symptoms at the same level. It has to be kept in mind that ADHD patients can develop Modafinil addiction. It is necessary to carry out systemic studies on this subject

disorder: Comparison of bipolar disorder and schziophrenia

The aim of this study was to compare schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia based on H-1-MRS metabolite values in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and executive functions. The subjects comprised 15 patients with bipolar disorder type I (BD), 15 with schizophrenia (SCH), 15 with schizoaffective disorder (SAD) and 15 healthy controls. We performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) bilaterally. Levels of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho) and creatine-containing compounds (Cr) were measured in the DLPFC using H-1-MRS. We administered the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Stroop Test (ST) to evaluate executive functions. The SAD, BD and SCH patients had lower levels of NAA than the control group. The SAD and BD patients had low levels of Cho compared to the control group. The left DLPFC Cr levels in all of the patient groups and the right DLPFC Cr levels in the BD and SAD groups were lower than in the control group. The levels of NAA Cho and Cr were not related to executive functions and attention performance. Cr level were related to attention processes, only in SCH. Our results indicate that NAA levels are reduced in schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but the reduction in the levels of NAA is not a distinctive feature among these three illnesses. Schizoaffective and bipolar disorders have similar features related to the levels of compounds containing Cho and Cr. This similarity may be related to these illnesses both having an affective basis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved