Aslihan Polat

The impact of antistigma education on the attitudes of general practitioners regarding schizophrenia.

Abstractu2002 The aim of this study was to examine the views and attitudes of general practitioners (GP) with respect to schizophrenia, and the changes in their attitudes after antistigma education. A total of 106 GPs working in 71 health institutions were included in the study. A questionnaire of 16 items, focussing on doctors’ views and attitudes towards schizophrenia, was applied. Questions were about the views and attitudes of doctors towards general myths related to schizophrenia. Doctors were asked to select one of two responses: ‘I agree’ or ‘I disagree’, for statements such as ‘schizophrenic patients cannot work’ and ‘schizophrenic patients are aggressive and dangerous’. After completing the questionnaire, all the GPs were given a single session of antistigma education. The questionnaire was repeated 3u2003months after training meetings in a subsample of 54 GPs which represented the whole sample in terms of gender, age, and years in medical practice. The authors found statistically significant, positive changes on five items out of the 16 items in the post‐test survey when compared to attitudes before training, including items about the treatability of schizophrenia, harmfulness and untrustworthiness of schizophrenic patients. The authors’ findings suggest that one antistigma education session, supported by the distribution of related documents, can improve GPs attitudes towards schizophrenia.

The Turkish version of the eating disorder examination questionnaire: reliability and validity in adolescents.

The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is the self-report questionnaire version of the Eating Disorder Examination Interview. The aim of the current study was to validate a Turkish version of the EDE-Q in a sample of Turkish primary and high school students (626 girls and 299 boys) in Istanbul. Subjects also completed the Eating Attitudes Test, the General Health Questionnaire and the Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire, and they were weighed. Girls had higher scores on all EDE-Q subtests. EDE-Q scores increased as body mass ındex increased. EDE-Q total score and subscales were highly correlated with the Eating Attitudes Test and the Body Image Satisfaction Questionnaire, supporting its validity. A small test-retest reliability study provided satisfactory results. The present study suggests that the Turkish version of EDE-Q is an acceptable, reliable and valid measure in nonclinical adolescent samples. More psychometric studies are needed concerning wider age ranges and various clinical samples.

FAMILY ATTITUDES TOWARD TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE IN TURKEY: EXPERIENCE FROM A SECULAR ISLAMIC COUNTRY

Objective: In Turkey, an individual with gender identity disorder is stigmatized and isolated from society. The family largely reflects and reinforces these negative views because gender crossing poses a threat to the normatively sanctioned gender classification. Methods: We examined the acceptance of gender identity differences by the families in 47 relatives of 39 transgendered individuals who applied to a psychiatry clinic for sex reassignment. Results: Half of the relatives who came to the interview were mothers. While 85.1% of the families considered themselves as secular muslims, 14.9% were very religious. They first noticed the gender identity disorder during puberty (70.2%) or prepuberty (17%). In 63.8% it was remarked that it was a shocking experience. One-third of them felt responsible for it. While 65.9% tried to change the situation by coercion, only 27.7% adopted a supportive attitude. The majority of families tried to conceal the situation from their immediate environment and one-third did not even inform their closest relatives. For half of relatives the mass media was their only source of information whereas one-third received information from doctors. Most of the families were satisfied with the treatment. Family members also reported that the conformity of the transgendered relative within the family improved. Of the family members, 40.4% accepted the transgendered identity and approved the sex reassignment surgery as a final step. Conclusion: Involvement of family members in the process of change for the transgendered individual is important for both the family as well as the individual concerned.

The effect of alprazolam on acoustic stapedius reflex thresholds in healthy volunteers.

AbstractnAlprazolam, a widely used drug, has widespread, nonspecific depressant effects on the central nervous system, similar to other benzodiazepines. This inhibitor effect may cause changes in reflex thresholds by affecting the acoustic stapedial reflex (ASR) arc. This study was performed on 31 healthy volunteers. Initially, the basal ASR thresholds were measured and measured again 2xa0h after oral intake of 1xa0mg of alprazolam; by measuring the reflex thresholds once again the mean values of thresholds before and after the drug were compared. Only the left ipsilateral and contralateral 2,000xa0Hz increases were significantly different. The left ipsilateral and contralateral 500, 1000, and 4000xa0Hz, and the right ipsilateral and contralateral 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000xa0Hz measurements showed no differences. Although an increase in ART thresholds was generally observed after the intake of alprazolam, it was not significant. Its use in healthy adults does not statistically produce an additional risk of acoustic trauma at most of the frequencies, but its use with the agents potentiating the effect of alprazolam may increase this risk.

Leukocytosis after Clozapine Treatment in a Patient with Chronic Schizophrenia

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of psychotic disorders. Agranulocytosis is a well-established side effect of clozapine; clozapine has also been associated with other blood dyscrasias like leukocytosis, albeit rarely. In this paper, we aim to report a case of possible clozapine-associated leukocytosis in a 41-year-old woman.

Treatment Approach to Sleep Terror: Two Case Reports

Parasomnias are a group of disorders characterized by abnormal behaviors, physical activities, and autonomic arousal symptoms while transition to sleep or continuation of sleep. Sleep terror (ST) is classified under parasomnias characterized by sudden fear attacks beginning with crying attacks or high-frequency screams and continuing with increased autonomic symptoms. ST occurs in the first few hours of sleep during the delta phase. Further, the lifetime prevalence of ST in adults is less than 1%. It is important to obtain; anamnesis from patients bed partner for a clinical evaluation of ST. Methods, such as evaluating sleep diaries and video recordings, can help ST diagnosis. It is also important to evaluate patients medical history, history of substance or alcohol abuse, psychological traumatic experiences, primary or secondary incomes, and detailed neurological aspects. Physician can select some serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or tricyclic antidepressants (TCADs) as medical treatment if patients have a high frequency of attacks. Because of addiction and relapse of ST episodes, benzodiazepines are not preferred as the first-line treatment. In this study, we will discuss ST, which is rare in adulthood, and use of long-acting benzodiazepine based on two cases.