Ece Yazla, Huseyin Kayadibi, Ihsan Cetin, Unsal Aydinoglu, Mehmet Emrah Karadere. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci 2022;20:504-13. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2022.20.3.504

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious mood disorder, notable for its morbidity and prevalence. It ranks among the top 10 diseases globally in terms of functional impairment among affected individuals. Studies investigating neurobiological processes in the development of BD also aim to identify biological markers. Ubiquitin is a protein that is abundant in all eukaryotic cells and regulates many processes through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. It has been reported to be associated with circadian rhythm and sleep disorders. Circadian rhythm plays a key role in maintaining mood stability in individuals with BD. In this study, we investigated the peripheral levels of molecules involved in the ubiquitination process and their relationship to sleep quality in individuals with BD. Methods: Forty-nine patients with BD and 50 healthy volunteers without any psychiatric disorders were included. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Young Mania Rating Scale, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were administered to the participants. Peripheral blood levels of proteins and enzymes that play a role in ubiquitination processes were determined by the immunosorbent assay method. Results: TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) (p < 0.001), ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 enzyme (UCH-L1) (p = 0.037), ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L3 enzyme (UCH-L3) (p = 0.007), histone deacetylase I (Histone Dea-1) (p = 0.006), histone deacetylase II (Histone Dea-2) (p = 0.047), and ligase cullin-3 (p = 0.031) levels were found to be significantly lower in the BD group than in the control group, but these parameters were not associated with sleep quality scores in the BD group. Conclusions: Our results support the data in the literature but show that the ubiquitination process can be affected in BD patients without being associated with sleep quality.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of perceived parental attitudes on the symptoms of these diseases in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (BD) and to compare the perceived parental attitudes between these two disorders. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2020 and August 2021 at a university hospital in Turkey. Fifty-two patients with BD and 50 patients with schizophrenia in remission, aged 16-50 years, who met the respective diagnostic criteria defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-5 were included in the study. Results: The mean age of patients with BD was 38.90 ±1 0.95 years, while it was 39.08 ± 11.51 years for those with schizophrenia. Females comprised 65.38% (n = 34) of the BD group and 78.00% (n = 39) of the schizophrenia group. Our results showed that the severity of various negative schizophrenia symptoms increased with higher levels of perceived parental libertarian attitude. In addition, the severity of delusion, which is one of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, was found to increase with lower perceived parental interest. We did not find a significant relationship between the severity of mania and depression symptoms and perceived parental attitudes. Conclusions: In addition to supporting previously reported relationships of various factors and schizophrenia and BD, our results suggest that the increase in the level of liberality of parents has a negative impact on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition, the decrease in the level of interest of parents towards their children exacerbates delusion symptoms.

Objective: Stigmatizing beliefs about mental illnesses negatively affect the course of illnesses in many ways. Modified Labeling Theory attempts to explain the factors that mediate the relationship between stigma and psychiatric symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the direct relationship between stigma and psychiatric symptom levels. Methods: Individuals aged 18-65 years, without a past psychiatric illness or treatment history, were included in the study. “Sociodemographic Information Form”, “Beliefs Toward Mentall Ilness Scale” and “SCL90 Symptom Checklist” were administered to the participants. Results: 203(F: 140, M: 63) participants were evaluated. It was found that psychiatric symptom levels and stigma levels showed a positive correlation. It was determined that the "SCL-90 psychoticism subscale” value could predict stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors.Conclusion: The data we obtained are consistent with the literature reporting a positive correlation between stigma and disease severity. In our study, it was found that this relationship was also valid in newly diagnosed individuals and at the symptom level. It is important to address stigmatizing thoughts, which are one of the biggest obstacles in the treatment process of mental illnesses, from the first examination.

Background/Aim: COVID-19 adversely affects mental health. We aimed to investigate COVID-19-related perceptions and attitudes in medical school students and to assess possible relationships with students’ psychological resilience levels and personality traits. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out with 186 students in medical school at Hitit University Faculty of Medicine from March 18, 2021 to May 27, 2021. The sociodemographic form, perceptions and attitudes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eysenck Personality Inventory (short form), and the Brief Psychological Resilience Scale were delivered to the students via mobile phone or e-mail and data were collected online. Results: In the COVID-19 perception scale, the assessment of dangerousness was found to be significantly higher among those living with at-risk individuals (P=0.026). In the perception of control subscale, personal control was found to be significantly higher in students who did not live with at-risk individuals (P=0.018). In the COVID-19 avoidance attitudes scale, behavioral avoidance was significantly more pronounced in students living with at-risk individuals (P=0.016). In our study, anxiety and depression were predominant in the brief symptom inventory. In the short form of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, it was observed that higher scores were obtained mostly in the neuroticism and extraversion dimensions. Conclusion: The findings of this study examining medical students show links between demographic factors, personality traits, and responses in the context of COVID-19 coping behaviors.

Amaç: Bipolar bozuklukta mevsimsel örüntülerin anlaşılması, atakların daha erken öngörülmesine ve zamanında müdahale edilmesine yardımcı olabilir. Tedavinin ve izlemin bu örüntülere göre uyarlanması, klinik stabilitenin artırılmasına ve nüks riskinin azaltılmasına katkı sağlayabilir. Bu çalışmada, bipolar bozukluk (BB) ataklarına bağlı hastane yatışlarının mevsimsel dağılımının retrospektif olarak değerlendirilmesi ve bu başvurular ile aylık meteorolojik değişkenler arasındaki olası ilişkilerin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu retrospektif çalışma, hastanemizde Aralık 2024 ile Mayıs 2025 tarihleri arasında yürütülmüştür. Psikiyatri kliniğine BB atağı nedeniyle yatırılmış olan 2018, 2019, 2023 ve 2024 yıllarına ait hastalar incelenmiştir. Aylık yatış oranları ile il düzeyindeki meteorolojik parametreler (sıcaklık, rüzgâr hızı, güneşlenme süresi ve yağışlı, sisli, karlı, bulutlu, kapalı ve açık gün sayıları) arasındaki ilişkiler değerlendirildi.Bulgular: İncelenen tüm yıllarda yatış sayıları tutarlı bir dağılım göstermiştir. BB’ye bağlı başvurular Nisan ile Kasım ayları arasında belirgin şekilde artmıştır (p = .005). Yatış oranlarının yüksek olduğu aylarda ortalama sıcaklık (p = .004), rüzgâr hızı (p = .034) ve güneşlenme süresi (p = .013) anlamlı olarak daha yüksek; sisli (p = .033) ve karlı gün sayıları (p = .012) ise daha düşük bulunmuştur. Ortalama sıcaklık, yatış sıklığının anlamlı bir yordayıcısı olarak belirlenmiş olup (p = .004), 8.85 °C’lik kesim değeri yüksek duyarlılık ve özgüllük göstermiştir (p = .011).Sonuç: İklim değişkenleri bipolar atak sıklığını etkileyebilir. Bu bulguların desteklenmesi için uzun dönemli ve geniş ölçekli prospektif çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.