Schizophrenia is known to be accompanied with increased cardiovascular mortality, which causes reduced life expectancy. The aim of the current study was to investigate if atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) could be a good marker in assessing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 328) and healthy controls (n = 141) were recruited. Schizophrenia patients were evaluated according to the presence of antipsychotic (AP) drug use as AP(+)Sch group and AP(−)Sch group. Atherogenic indices, such as AIP, Castelli’s risk index-I (CRI-I), Castelli’s risk index-II (CRI-II), and atherogenic coefficient (AC), were calculated according to the laboratory examination of serum lipid parameters. According to the comparison of serum lipid levels, triglyceride (TG) levels were found to be highest and high-density lipoprotein–cholesterol levels were lowest in AP(+)Sch group than AP(−)Sch group and control group (CG) (p < 0.001). AIP, CRI-I, and CRI-II scores were found to be significantly higher in AP(+)Sch group than AP(−)Sch group, and in AP(−)Sch than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Mean AC scores were higher in AP(+)Sch group than both AP(−)Sch and CG and were similar in AP(−)Sch and control subjects (p < 0.001). According to the correlation analysis, AIP scores were positively correlated with duration of disease (r = 0.235; p = 0.002) and age (r = 0.226; p = 0.003) in AP(+)Sch group but not in drug-free subjects. In all groups, atherogenic indices of CRI-I, CRI-II, and AC scores were found to be positively correlated with AIP scores (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that AIP is an easily calculable and reliable marker for determining the CVD risk in both drug-free schizophrenia patients and patients under AP treatment.

This prospective, randomized, controlled study aimed to investigate the effects of standardized adjuvant hypnosis on pain, depression, anxiety, aerobic exercise practices, quality of life, and disease impact score in female patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This study included 47 female patients with FMS who had been under treatment for at least six months. The hypnosis group (n = 24) received a total of three hypnosis sessions and was taught to patients' self-hypnosis. The patients in this group practiced self-hypnosis for six months. During this period, all patients also continued their medical treatment. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to determine the intensity of pain. At the end of the six-month follow-up period, it was determined that the patients of FMS with hypnosis therapy had lower pain intensity, FMS symptoms, depression, and anxiety symptoms, and better well-being than those in the control group (p < .05). Standardized hypnosis is an effective method in reducing pain, depression and anxiety symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with FMS.

Objectives: In recent years there has been an increased interest on the role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and a search for readily applicable prognostic markers. The impact of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on inflammatory function in schizophrenia is still unclear. The aim of this retrospective study is to compare pre- and post-ECT values of red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) which are considered to be inflammatory markers, and to discuss the findings in context of neuroinflammatory ethiology of schizophrenia.Methods: Inpatient files were reviewed via complete blood count (CBC), sociodemographic and clinical characteristics (e.g. gender, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), type of psychotropic medication). A total of 58 schizophrenic patients who underwent ECT were were compared in terms of pre- and post-ECT values of RDW, MPV, MCH, MCHC, NLR and PLR in association with type of psychotropic medication.Results: It was found that MPV, RDW, MCH and MCHC levels significantly decreased after ECT (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in terms of NLR and PLR (p > 0.05). When compared according to the type of psychotropic medication during ECT, MPV and MCHC were decreased after ECT in both typicaland atypical antipsychoticintervention groups (p < 0.05). ECT-related inflammatory marker changes were more likely to be associated with atypical antipsychotic medication use during ECT.Conclusions: Our results indicate that recurrent ECT sessions caused a change in the function of the immune system which might be considered to explain the therapeutic effects of ECT in schizophrenia.

Objective: There is evidence that obesity leads to impairments in certain cognitive functions and provide improvement in these cognitive functions after weight loss. However, the relationship between visual cognitive skills and weight loss has not been adequately studied in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the change in visual cognitive abilities after weight loss. Methods: In this study, 22 obese volunteer women with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥40 kg/m² who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) were evaluated. Three days before surgery, a Symptom Check List-90, Benton Judgment of Line Orientation (JoLO) Test, and Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) were applied to participants. All participants were reevaluated 12 months after surgery through these tests. Results: The BMI of the participants decreased by 21.95–49.41% after the LSG. The mean JoLO scores and mean RCFT short- and long-term memory scores were observed to have increased significantly after 12 months (p = 0.014, p = 0.001 and p = 0.003, respectively), and the psychopathological complaints of the individuals were also found to have decreased significantly (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The findings revealed that women who have undergone bariatric surgery experienced positive changes in their visual spatial and visual memory performances 12 months after the surgery.

Objective: Recently, it has been observed that the prevalence of substance use in young adulthood has increased. Comorbidity of anxiety disorders is high in individuals with substance use disorder. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and social anxiety in young adults using methamphetamine. Material and Methods: 101 patients diagnosed with methamphetamine use disorder were included in the study. Participants were evaluated with sociodemographic data form, Addiction Profile Index (BAPI), Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Inventory (LSAI) and Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3). Results: It was determined that 70.3% of the subjects with SUD were diagnosed as SAD. ASI-3, SCL-90-R and BAPI scores were statistically significantly higher in the SAD group than in the non-SAD group (p<0.05). A statistically significant positive correlation was found in the SAD group between the LSAI-fear/anxiety subscale scores and ADI-3 total (r=0.26, p<0.05), ADI-3 cognitive(r=0.34, p<0.05) and SCL-90-R total scores (r=0.28, p0.05). Conclusion: It can be suggested that anxiety sensitivity is a common risk factor for both methamphetamine use disorder and social anxiety. Social anxiety symptoms should be questioned in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder and substance addiction treatment should be carried out together with social anxiety disorder treatment.