Insulin Abuse: A Case Report of Munchausen Syndrome.

Hypoglycaemia in individuals with diabetes is defined as the presence of signs or symptoms in addition to potentially occurring abnormal plasma glucose levels in the patient. Munchausen Syndrome (MS) is characterized by the deliberate induction of physical or psychological symptoms or the act of pretending to have symptoms. Patient reports of this factitious disease pattern are limited in the literature. The diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome, which is among factitious disorders, is very difficult. Endocrinological complaints are very common among those admitted to the hospitals. BACKGROUND: Unnecessary and numerous examinations cause financial losses and loss of time for both the individual and the healthcare system. In this case report, we aimed to discuss the management of a patient who tried to gain secondary gain by creating artificial hypoglycemia attacks. CASE REPORT: In this case report, the diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome given to a 28-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with type I diabetes and repeatedly admitted to the hospital due to hypoglycemia attacks is discussed. CONCLUSION: Munchausen syndrome is an important and often overlooked diagnosis that should be kept in mind due to the possibility of individuals harming themselves unpredictably, as well as causing disruptions in the healthcare system and wasting time due to numerous and unnecessary examinations and evaluations. For this reason, it is a diagnosis that should be kept in mind in cases of unexplained hypoglycemia attacks.

Clinical and Cognitive Effects of Computer Assisted Cognitive Remediation Method in Turkish Men with Opioid Use Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Substance use disorders are associated with significant cognitive impairments causing many individual or social problems besides poor treatment outcomes. The cognitive remediation method is effective in so many neuropsychiatric disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of this method among individuals with opioid use disorder. Method:60 patients diagnosed with opioid use disorder under buprenorphine-naloxone treatment and who accepted the informed consent were included. Seven patients left the study initially. 53 male patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment in the usual control or cognitive remediation-intervention group. The intervention group completed 3 to 4 sessions a week, 8 different exercises in each session, for 4 weeks, a total of 12 sessions, individually. Addiction Profile Indeks, Barrat Impulsivity Scale-SF, CGI, and Delay Discounting scores were measured before and after the 1 month cognitive Remediation practices. Three months later, patients were contacted, and their remission status was evaluated. Results: In the intervention group; 17(89.5%) people had remission and 2(10.5%) people had relapse. In the control group, 7(31.8%) individuals had remission, and 15(68.2%) had relapsed at the end of the 3 months. It was determined that craving, addiction severity, and self-reported and behavioral impulsivity values decreased while the improvement in treatment response was higher in the intervention group. Conclusion: Our results showed that the computer-assisted cognitive remediation method, in addition to buprenorphine-naloxone treatment, improves treatment response, increases remission, and has positive clinical and cognitive effects on individuals with opioid use disorder. It suggests that cognitive remediation practices can be added to the treatment programs for addiction.

Is there any relation between arterial stiffness and insomnia? A challenging question.

PURPOSE: Insomnia is a common sleep disorder which has high comorbidity with a number of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). As a possible risk factor for the CVDs, arterial stiffness may be assessed non-invasively by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AI). The aim of this study was to evaluate any relation between insomnia and arterial stiffness. METHODS: Patients with insomnia were included in the study after the exclusion of other sleep disorders by polysomnography. Sleep quality and the degree of insomnia symptoms were evaluated by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and insomnia severity index (ISI), respectively. PWV and AI were assessed by Mobil-O-Graph arteriograph system. RESULTS: Consecutive patients with insomnia (n = 72, 56 women, mean age 55.8 ± 9.1 years) were included. Patients were grouped as those with severe ISI scores (22-28) and those with mild to moderate ISI scores (8-21). Despite no significant difference in characteristics and clinical data, patients with severe ISI scores had significantly higher total PSQI scores and NREM-2 with significantly lower REM duration. They also had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, pulse pressure, PWV, and AI compared to patients with mild and moderate ISI scores. Correlation analysis revealed that PWV and AI were significantly correlated with the ISI score and PSQI score. CONCLUSION: There is a close relation between arterial stiffness and insomnia suggesting a risk for CVD in patients with insomnia.