Alican Dalkilic

A Defect in the Antioxidant Defense System in Schizophrenia

Objectives: Several oxidants and antioxidants have been evaluated in schizophrenia. However, previous studies frequently focused on individual parameters. Determination of the total oxidant and antioxidant status may be more useful. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate both plasma total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) together with the oxidative stress index (OSI) in schizophrenia patients for the first time in the literature. Methods: A total of 60 schizophrenia patients and 40 healthy volunteers were included in the study. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Clinical Global Impression-severity scale (CGI-S) were used to evaluate the severity of schizophrenia in the patients. TOS and TAS were measured in plasma and the OSI was calculated for patients and controls. Results: There was no difference between patients and controls with regard to TOS, but the patients’ TAS and OSI were significantly lower and higher, respectively, than those of the controls. No difference was detected between the schizophrenia subtypes or between the patients on typical or atypical antipsychotic medications or a combination of the two with regard to oxidative parameters. There was a weak to moderately significant negative correlation between TAS and total, positive and general psychopathology PANSS scores. Finally, we found a weak to moderately significant negative correlation between the CGI-S score and TOS and between the CGI-S score and TAS. Conclusions: There is a defect in the antioxidant defense system in schizophrenia. Known oxidative stress that causes oxidative cell damage and thus contributes to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia may be mainly related to this defensive defect.

Substance Use Prevalence According to Public High School Types in Istanbul

Objective:School environment is one of the important factors affecting behavior and use of addictive substances in youth. School-related studies on youth behavior are categorized mainly in 3 areas: school structures, sociocultural conditions at schools, and social networks at schools. In this study, the prevalence of youth substance use (cigarette, alcohol, and cannabis) was compared across different types of public high schools (HSs) in Istanbul. Methods:The survey research of 31,272 students was conducted in 154 HSs in 28 districts of Istanbul, Turkey in 2010. The school types consisted of regular, occupational, and Anatolian HSs, which differ on curriculum, resources, and admission requirements. The participating schools were selected randomly through a stratification method. Results:Comparison of school types across lifetime use of cigarette, alcohol, or marijuana showed that vocational HS students had significantly higher rates of cigarette (49.8%) and marijuana (4.1%), whereas Anatolian HS students had higher rates of alcohol (39.7%) use. Cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana were used lifetime 45.5%, 32.5%, and 3.3%, respectively, by all HS students in Istanbul. Vocational HS had greater than average rates of cigarette and marijuana use and Anatolian HS had greater than average rates for alcohol use. Conclusions:Substance use prevalence varied across HS types, but this variance was different according to types of substances. While planning substance use prevention interventions, policy makers should understand the reasons for the differences and prioritize interventions aiming to decrease cigarette and marijuana use in regular and vocational HS and alcohol use in Anatolian HS.

A pilot study of body image perceptions, and attitudes toward obesity in hospitalized psychotic and non-psychotic patients

OBJECTIVE Body image perceptions, and attitudes toward obesity were examined and compared between psychotic and non-psychotic patients with a mood disorder. METHODS 80 psychotic patients and 36 non-psychotic patients with a mood disorder admitted to an acute inpatient psychiatric unit participated in the study. On admission, each patient completed a visual silhouettes scale of actual self and ideal self, as well as the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP) scale. RESULTS Analogous to the general population, psychotic and non-psychotic patients had similar body image perceptions, and experienced discrepancy between actual and ideal body image. Female patients with serious mental illness (SMI) picked a heavier actual self body image, and experienced greater discrepancy between actual and ideal body image compared to male patients with SMI. Psychotic and non-psychotic patients experienced similar mostly neutral attitudes toward obese persons, however there was a trend for depressed patients to have more negative attitudes toward obese persons compared to non-depressed patients. DISCUSSION The presence of an acute psychotic episode did not affect body perceptions, or obesity attitudes; however depressed patients had more negative obesity attitudes. Similar to the general population, females with SMI overassessed their body size, and experienced more body dissatisfaction compared to males with SMI.