Psychosocial and cultural needs of children with intellectual disability and their families among the Syrian refugee population in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees from Syria, with currently 3 571 175 million persons. The general health needs of the refugees are being addressed; however, people with intellectual disabilities (IDs), particularly children, are relatively missed. The aim of this study was to identify medical, psychological and social needs of children with ID and their families, among the Syrian refugee population in Turkey, and to define psychosocial and cultural needs for planning of future services. METHODS: One hundred forty-two children (67.6% men; mean age 90.5 months) diagnosed with intellectual disorders were included in the study. Family Needs Survey, with additional open-ended and close-ended questions, was used to evaluate family needs. Items from Developmental Disabilities Profile-2 were used to evaluate and screen cognitive, motor and language development as well as medical concerns and behavioural problems. Data on sociodemographic characteristics were also collected. RESULTS: The highest needs were identified in information and financial needs domains. Other indicated needs were on child care and community services domains. The least indicated items were on family and social support and explaining to others domains. An average of 63.5% of the respondents definitely agreed with the Family Needs Survey items. The overall level of identification of need items was higher than that in some previous studies, indicating the level of unmet needs of the studied population. Family income, parents' employment and parents' education were not significantly associated with unmet family needs. Special education services were unreachable for most of the families in the study. CONCLUSIONS: Families reported the highest needs in information and financial needs domains. The overall level of identification of needs was higher than that in some previous studies, indicating the level of unmet needs of the studied population. The majority of the parents reported that they had sufficient family and social support, which might be a protective factor for parental mental health. Parents' Turkish fluency was very significantly associated with every domain of unmet needs. Language barriers and translation problems had significant negative effects on families, as confirmed by the answers to open-ended questions. Another important factor identified was access to service professionals. Special education services, sorely needed for most of the families, could not always be reached. Although the progress of children who had received special education was not very encouraging, it was better than those who did not receive it. The first implication of the study is that increasing Turkish proficiency or providing high-quality and consistent translation services is vital for this category of children with ID. The second implication is that information and financial needs must be met with priority. Information must be tailored for each child's needs and developmental level. Special education and physical therapy must be more accessible and at higher quality.

Effectiveness of Ericksonian hypnosis in tinnitus therapy: preliminary results.

INTRODUCTION: The present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Ericksonian hypnosis in reducing the impact of tinnitus on patients' quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A controlled prospective longitudinal study was designed. The severity of tinnitus was assessed with Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) before hypnotherapy and then 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after therapy. Health Survey SF-36 was used to assess health-related quality of life before and after hypnotherapy. Thirty-nine patients with severe idiopathic subjective tinnitus were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: The mean SD age of the patients was 44.5 +/- 12.5 years, ranging from 21 to 65 years; 48% were female. Mean THI scores assessed at the beginning and 4 times after commencement of therapy were evaluated. The changes in THI scores were significant. Health Survey SF-36 was assessed separately. The greatest increases were seen in physical role followed by emotional role difficulty. CONCLUSION: The preliminary results of our study demonstrated the effectiveness of Ericksonian hypnosis in the study group.

Octreotide prevents postoperative adhesion formation by suppressing peritoneal myeloperoxidase activity.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite a great deal of effort to prevent the adhesion formation, an ideal therapy or drug remains to be identified. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of octreotide on adhesion prevention and neutrophil infiltration. METHODOLOGY: Fourteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a standard intraabdominal adhesion model operation. Octreotide group (n = 7) rats were administered 20 micrograms/kg octreotide intramuscular while control group (n = 7) rats were given no treatment. On the 10th day the rats were decapitated and the degrees of adhesions were recorded and the plasma, peritoneal fluid, peritoneal tissue myeloperoxidase levels were determined. RESULTS: Intraabdominal adhesions and peritoneal tissue myeloperoxidase levels were significantly reduced in the octreotide group as compared to saline treated adhesion group. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that octreotide reduces the intraabdominal adhesions. This adhesion-preventive effect may be due to the inhibition of neutrophil infiltration.

Octreotide inhibits myeloperoxidase activity in rat uterus.

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have demonstrated that synthetic somatostatin-analog octreotide could affect the functions of the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary gland and ovary. To date, very few studies on the effect of octreotide on uterine function have been reported. We investigated the effects of octreotide on neutrophil functions in rat uterus. METHODS: Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to a standardized uterine horn excision. To evaluate the effect of octreotide, the rats were assigned randomly to treatment (octreotide 20 microgr/kg, SC) and control groups. After two weeks relaparotomy was performed and contralateral uterine horns were excised in the same standardized manner. The excised segment was washed in cold saline solution and was frozen in liquid nitrogen immediately and homogenized. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and elastase concentrations were determined in homogenates of uterine horns. The data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: In octreotide-treated rats the MPO activity was significantly reduced after 14 days (14.79+/-2.08 versus 6.62+/-1.72 U/mg protein; p=0.012). There was also a significant difference in mean MPO levels between the two groups at the end of the experiment (6.62+/- 1.72 versus 18.56+/-2.49 U/mg protein; p=0.001). The octreotide administration did not affect elastase levels significantly. No differences were found in mean elastase levels in both groups after the treatment. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that octreotide has a significant effect on the neutrophil function in terms of MPO activity in rat uterus. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical relevance of the inhibitory effect of octreotide in the uterus and the possibility of its applications.

Tibolone does not have a sustained measurable thermogenic effect in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Our purpose was to determine if tibolone in commonly used daily dosage (2.5 mg/day) would have a measurable thermogenic effect in women, which could be attributed to its progestogenic effect. METHODS: We enrolled twelve postmenopausal women in this study. Subjects were instructed to take their basal body temperatures for fifteen days before and for another fifteen days during tibolone usage. Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Only in one subject did the basal body temperatures before and during tibolone usage have a significantly different distribution (p=0.048). Mean basal body temperatures before and during tibolone usage of the subjects were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test and the p value was found to be 0.158. CONCLUSION: The results of the statistical analysis of the basal body temperatures which were taken before and during tibolone usage in our group seem to indicate that tibolone does not have a sustained measurable thermogenic effect in postmenopausal women.

Mature cystic teratoma in round ligament: case report.

Our report describes an unusual presentation of mature cystic teratoma. In this case, 3 mature cystic teratomas were encountered during cesarean section, one in each round ligament and the other in the left ovary. According to the literature, round ligament is one of the rarest sites for the presentation of mature cystic teratoma.

Is there any change in the prolactin levels of nurses in the morning after night shift?

Our purpose was to determine if blood samplings in the mornings after night shifts should be avoided for measuring the basal serum prolactin levels in women working at night and with regular menses; 20 nurses with regular menses, all working only at night shifts, were enrolled in this study. Serum prolactin levels of the subjects were determined twice, first in the morning after a typical night's sleep, with no intercourse within the previous 24 hours, second, in the morning after a typical night shift. All measurements of serum prolactin levels were performed in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Prolactin levels in the mornings after typical night's sleeps and in the mornings after typical night shifts were not significantly different. Prolactin level in the morning after a night shift of a woman with regular menses may represent basal prolactin level of that woman.

Osteocalcin metabolism in late fetal life: fetal and maternal osteocalcin levels.

To clarify the osteocalcin metabolism in the fetus, we determined venous osteocalcin levels of 13 women and umbilical arterial and venous osteocalcin levels of their newborns at delivery. Calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels were also established. Umbilical arterial and venous blood calcium and phosphorus levels were significantly higher than maternal venous blood values (P < 0.001 for all). Umbilical arterial calcium was 2.46 +/- 0.02 mmol/l, phosphorus 1.48 +/- 0.04 mmol/l, umbilical venous calcium 2.50 +/- 0.03 mmol/l, phosphorus 1.45 +/- 0.04 mmol/l, maternal calcium 2.16 +/- 0.03 mmol/l, phosphorus 0.98 +/- 0.04 mmol/l. Both umbilical venous (5.85 +/- 0.66 nmol/l) and arterial (3.49 +/- 0.51 nmol/l) osteocalcin levels were significantly higher than maternal values (1.42 +/- 0.15 nmol/l). The high umbilical venous osteocalcin levels may be due to increased osteocalcin degradation in fetus or placental osteocalcin synthesis.