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Aylin Uluşahin

Publications and source records attributed to Aylin Uluşahin.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Psychopathology and personality patterns in the first-degree relatives of bipolar patients].

OBJECTIVE: This is a cross-sectional study designed to assess psychopathology and personality patterns in a group of high-risk subjects for bipolar disorder compared to a control group. As high-risk subjects first-degree relatives of bipolar patients were selected. METHOD: Ninety-five first-degree relatives of 54 bipolar patients and 93 first-degree relatives of 54 subjects without any psychiatric disorder were recruited in the study. Control subjects were matched to bipolar patients according to age, gender and educational status. SADS-L (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version) was used both to ascertain the psychiatric status of the patient and control subjects, and to evaluate the psychopathology in probands' and controls' relatives. MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) profiles of relatives of patient and control groups were compared as well. RESULTS: In the relatives of bipolar patients the SADS-L diagnoses of hypomania, minor depression and schizotypal personality were statistically more prevalent than in the relatives of the control group. MMPI-2 profiles of both relatives of bipolar patients and controls were within "normal" range, whereas relatives of patients were more defensive in disclosing psychopathology. Any specific profile characteristic for relatives of bipolar patients could not be described. CONCLUSION: Minor mental disorders were more prevalent in the relatives of bipolar patients group. A personality pattern specific to high risk group for bipolar disorder couldn't be detected.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Is vitamin D hypothesis for schizophrenia valid? Independent segregation of psychosis in a family with vitamin-D-dependent rickets type IIA.

The vitamin D hypothesis of schizophrenia is a recent concept bringing together old observations on environmental risk factors and new findings on the neurodevelopmental effects of vitamin D. Candidate genes related to the vitamin D endocrine system have not yet been fully explored for this purpose. The coexistence of vitamin-D-dependent-rickets type II with alopecia (VDDR IIA) and different forms of psychosis in the same inbred family has provided us with an opportunity to investigate the presumed relationship between vitamin D deficiency and psychosis. Psychiatric examination and molecular genetic studies were performed in this family overloaded with psychotic disorders and VDDR IIA. Forty members were evaluated in order to describe their phenotypic features. The family was tested for a linkage to the chromosome 12q12-q14 region where the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene is located. Psychosis was the common phenotype in the 18 psychiatrically affected members. Pedigree analysis did not show a cosegregation of psychosis and rickets. Lod scores were not significant to prove a linkage between psychosis and VDR locus. The authors concluded that (1) the neurodevelopmental consequences of vitamin D deficiency do not play a causative role in psychotic disorders, (2) these two syndromes are inherited independently, and (3) vitamin D deficiency does not act as a risk factor in subjects susceptible to psychosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[The utility of an endophenotype approach in overcoming the difficulties in bipolar and schizophrenia genetics].

Despite the progress in molecular genetics, the genes responsible for the development of bipolar disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia have not yet been identified. This failure can be attributed to an ambiguous phenotypic description and several variations in the genetic transmission of these diseases. There is a growing consensus that an endophenotype approach may be utilized to overcome the difficulties regarding the phenotypic description and facilitate the identification of the susceptibility or protective genes. The endophenotypes which can be defined as subclinical vulnerability markers may assist in the identification of the genetic underpinnings of psychiatric disorders regardless of the disease status. This approach may provide well-defined phenotypes having a stronger relationship with the pathophysiology and genetic etiology than with the diagnostic categories themselves. An endophenotype may be an inherited neurophysiological, neuropsychological, cognitive, neuroanatomical, biochemical or endocrinological trait. Nevertheless, it must be 1) associated with illness, 2) present in nonaffected family members at a higher rate than in the general population, 3) present within the normal population to a lesser extent and 4) state-independent. Besides increasing the power of genetic analysis in BPD and schizophrenia, an endophenotype approach may help in reshaping the classical nosological systems and diagnostic categories. Lastly, it may have additional use in psychiatry, including the development of suitable animal models for these disorders. In this article, the rationale for the use of endophenotypes in genetic studies of BPD and schizophrenia is discussed and the proposed candidate endophenotypes for both disorders are reviewed.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed2003

[Hunting the susceptibility gene for psychosis: a study of a family overloaded with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder].

OBJECTIVE: It is a long-standing debate whether schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are separate clinical entities or different poles on a spectrum. In this paper we present a family overloaded with schizophrenia, and schizoaffective, bipolar and unipolar disorders. Common loci for bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia were tested by linkage analysis. METHOD: The pedigree of an index family which had been followed by our department for nearly 20 years was extended. The index family members were diagnosed by two psychiatrists with two distinct structured interview schedules (SCID-I and SADS-L). A field visit was undertaken for the evaluation of the extended family (n= 40) and SADS-L was used for psychiatric assessment. Blood samples were collected for molecular studies. A linkage study has been performed for overlapping susceptibility regions for schizophrenia and affective disorders (10p13-p12, 13q32, 18p and 22q11-q13) and a locus (20p11.2-q13) to which a linkage had been shown in a bipolar family who lived in the same region. Both autosomal recessive and dominant mode of inheritance were assumed in the analysis. RESULTS: The pedigree consisted of 108 individuals of whom 23 are affected. All affected subjects presented psychotic features except for 5 unipolar patients. The pedigree was reconstructed with respect to psychosis phenotype. Further linkage and haplotype analysis excluded all five loci on chromosomes 10, 13, 18, 20 and 22 under both autosomal dominant and recessive modes of inheritance assumption. CONCLUSION: A potential linkage between the psychosis gene and reported susceptibility loci overlapping in bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia was not demonstrated Genome-wide analysis should be performed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Outcome measures of interepisode bipolar patients in a Turkish sample.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to study the correlations of several outcome measures in bipolar patients with the clinical features of interepisode period. METHODS: Bipolar patients who were diagnosed according to DSM-III-R or IV were contacted and asked for a further evaluation. Interepisode bipolar patients (n = 100) were interviewed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS). In addition the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) and the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) were administered to assess outcome. They were also asked to check the List of Life Events (LLE) for the last six months. RESULTS: Our results can be summarised as follows: (1) quality of life was predicted by current subthreshold depressive symptoms; (2) the number of previous depressive episodes, current subthreshold depressive and manic symptoms predicted disability; (3) the number of previous depressive episodes and the duration of hospitalisation as well as current subthreshold depressive and manic symptoms predicted overall functioning; (4) the number and distress level of life events were correlated with suicidal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that outcome measures were correlated with subsyndromal disorder, the number of previous depressive episodes and the duration of hospitalisation.

Activities of Daily Living↗