Aim:Toxoplasma gondii may play a role in the development of psychiatric diseases by affecting the brain. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between serum toxoplasma IgG positivity and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in children and adolescents.Method: Sixty patients diagnosed with OCD and 60 patients with GAD presenting to the pediatric psychiatry clinic, together with 60 control group subjects with no psychiatric diagnosis, were included in the study. The patients were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Serum toxoplasma IgG levels were determined from blood specimens collected from the study and control groups. The results were then compared using statistical methods.Results: State and trait anxiety levels were significantly higher in the OCD and GAD patients than in the control group (p=.0001/.0001). Serum toxoplasma IgG levels were positive in 21 (35%) of the OCD patients, 19 (31.7%) of the GAD patients and 6 (10%) of the control group. A significant relation was determined between IgG positivity and GAD (p=.003). IgG-positive individuals were determined to have a 4.171-fold greater risk of GAD compared to those without positivity (4.171[1.529-11.378]) (p=.005). A significant relation was also determined between IgG positivity and OCD (p=.001). IgG-positive individuals were determined to have a 4.846-fold greater risk of OCD compared to those without positivity (4.846[1.789-13.126]) (p=.002).Conclusion: This study shows that serum toxoplasma IgG positivity indicating previous toxoplasma infection increased the risk of GAD 4.171-fold and the risk of OCD 4.846-fold in children and adolescents. Further studies are now needed to investigate the relation between T. gondii infection and GAD/OCD and to determine the pathophysiology involved.

Background: Psychiatric disorders are thought to play an important role in the onset, exacerbation and course of several chronic dermatological diseases. We aimed to investigate psychiatric diagnoses in children with psoriasis before and during the disease and to examine potentially related factors. Methods: A total of 108 children aged 8–16 years, 54 with a diagnosis of psoriasis and 54 healthy individuals, were included in the study. Participants were evaluated using The Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS PL), Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and the results were compared using statistical techniques. Results: At least one psychiatric diagnosis was present in 70.3% of children with psoriasis and in 27.7% of the control group, the difference being significant (p = .0001). It was seen that 73.6% of children with a psychiatric diagnosis were psychiatric diagnoses in the premorbid period. Children with psoriasis were determined to have 9.21-fold greater risk of anxiety (p = .0001) and a 6.65-fold greater risk of depression (p = .0019) compared with the control group. Conclusions: A statistically significant increase in psychiatric disorders occurs in disease periods in cases of pediatric psoriasis. Moreover, a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders was detected in the premorbid process. We think that it is important for these to be considered in the management of the disease and in controlling exacerbation, and for the mechanisms involved to be elucidated.

Dermatillomania is characterized by excessive and repeated skin picking sufficient to damage cutaneous tissue, but with no underlying dermatological disease. The condition appears as an independent diagnosis in the Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. A psychiatric pathology is generally reported to accompany this symptom. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a potentially lifelong condition involving inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common childhood psychiatric disorders. Treatment includes medication, psychotherapy, and psychosocial therapies. Psychostimulants constitute the basis of treatment of children with ADHD worldwide. We describe a case of skin picking developing after methylphenidate therapy for ADHD. Possible explanations of methylphenidate and skin picking are reviewed in the light of the current literature.