The relationship between smoking, alcohol, and substance abuse and psychiatric diseases among adolescents treated in a child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient unit.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of smoking, alcohol, and substance abuse disorders among adolescents hospitalized in a university hospital child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient unit with different diagnoses, and to determine the rates of these disorders according to the mental illness diagnosis groups. METHODS: The study was conducted with 346 adolescents aged 12-18 who had been hospitalized with any psychiatric diagnosis between September 2016 and January 2020 in the child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient unit. The study considered the psychiatric diagnoses, based on the results of the DSM-5-based psychiatric interview; sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; the psychopathology history of first-degree relatives; comorbidities; length of hospital stay; income levels, and smoking, alcohol, and substance abuse. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent (n=83) of the participants had been smoking for 18 months or longer, 6.9% (n=24) were using alcohol, and 1% (n=28) were substance abusers. When the diagnosis distributions were examined, smoking was found to be higher in those with depressive disorders and trauma and related disorders, while smoking, alcohol, and substance use were found to be higher in the disruptive behavior disorder group. Smoking was found to be significantly lower in the obsessive-compulsive disorder group. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking, alcohol, and substance use among inpatient children and adolescents may worsen their existing psychopathology, so health professionals working in this field should consider this situation.

Evaluation of Blood Zonulin Levels, Inflammatory Processes and Neuronal Changes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by symptoms such as limited, and repetitive behavior patterns and disordered social interaction and communication. The etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is not clearly known, it has been emphasized that the immune-inflammatory system may also play a role in this disease. This study aimed to evaluate in intestinal permeability, food antigen-antibody levels, inflammatory processes, and neuron damage in patients with ASD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-five children between the ages of 3-12 with ASD and 35 controls were included in the study. Both participants' height and weight were measured, and the parents filled the Socio-demographic Data and the Gastrointestinal Systems (GIS) Symptoms Form. Venous blood samples were collected, and serum zonulin, anti-gliadin Ig A and Ig G, IL6, TNF-alpha, TGF- ß, S100B, and NSE levels were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Serum zonulin levels in the ASD group were found to be significantly lower. IL-6 and TGF-ß were found to be significantly higher in the ASD group. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of serum anti-gliadin Ig A and Ig G and TNF-alpha values. Also, GIS symptoms, NSE and S100B levels were found similar between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although findings showing low zonulin levels and increased inflammatory processes in ASD were found in this study, no difference was found in the parameters of brain damage. The findings show that intestinal permeability does not decrease in ASD and that inflammatory processes may play a role in ASD.

IL-4, TGF-, NF-B and MPO levels in Patients with Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia. / Tedaviye Dirençli Sizofreni Hastalarinda IL-4, TGF-ß, NF-κB ve MPO Düzeyleri.

OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic disorder in which genetics and environmental factors such as infection and the corresponding immune response play a role in the etiopathogenesis. The aim of this study was to compare some immune factors such as nuclear factor-B (NF-B) activation, myeloperoxidase (MPO), the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4), and regulatory cytokine transforming growth factor- (TGF-) in schizophrenia patients and an age- and gender-matched control group. METHOD: Plasma levels of IL-4, TGF-, MPO, and NF-B activation in 20 subjects with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were analyzed. Disease severity was evaluated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). RESULTS: Plasma TGF- levels were found to be significantly lower and NF-B to be significantly higher in antipsychotic treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients than in controls in this study. No significant differences were found between the patient and control groups for serum IL-4 and MPO levels. CONCLUSION: The low TGF- level in treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients in the symptom exacerbation period indicates that there is inadequate Th1/Th2 balance. Large-scale studies are required to investigate whether this is responsible for resistance in schizophrenia. The fact that the increase in NF-B that we found in treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients in this study has also been reported in the first attack in untreated schizophrenia patients in previous studies indicates that NF-B plays a role in the disorder's physiopathology from the beginning.