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Background Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous substance which has several endocrine functions and may act as neurotransmitter in the brain. High levels of NO may provoke nitrosative stress. Aim It was aimed to examine serum levels of NO in patients with depressive episodes who were treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in this study. Methods The design was a case-control, follow-up study. Patients with depressive episodes (n = 23) and a healthy control group (n = 21) were enrolled. Three serum samples were obtained from the patient group (before ECT, after first and seventh sessions). NO, nitrite, and nitrate levels were examined. Statistical analysis Differences between groups were examined with t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test. Longitudinal data were evaluated with Panel Regression Analysis and Kruskal-Wallis Test. Results Serum levels of NO and nitrite decreased significantly after the seventh session of ECT administration compared to the baseline and first session. Nitrate levels did not differ between the assessments. Conclusions Reduction of the serum NO and nitrite levels might be a contributing factor for hypertension during the sessions. These findings are reflect the circulating NO levels. Further studies may dissect NO physiology in the brain in mental disorders and potential external effects.

Aim In this study, we have aimed to investigate the relationship between the premorbid personality traits and the behavioral and psychological symptoms of Alzheimer disease. Method 147 dementia patients who have attended to Geriatric Psychiatry Department of Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty have been selected randomly. Out of these patients, 45 Alzheimer type dementia patients whose family members or a relative could be reached are included in the study. Relatives of each patient have been asked to fill in the Munich Personality Test (MPT) – relatives form for the purpose of assessment of premorbid personality traits of the subjects. Results It could be stated that high level of premorbid isolation tendency and schizoidia scores are the predictors of hallucinations and aggression. Low level of premorbid frustration tolerance is found to be associated with the present anxiety and the higher Behave–AD general assessment scores. Conclusion We conclude that certain premorbid personality traits could be a risk factor for the later development of behavioral and psychological symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease or that psychopathologic symptoms could actually be exaggerations or morbid distortions of lifelong behavioral tendencies, and it may also be explained by reflection of neuropathological processes occurring in brain in dementia onto clinic practice, in reliance upon detection of similar findings in studies conducted on different types of dementia and in different cultures. Advanced studies conducted on a sufficient number of subjects in prospective design within a biopsychosociocultural model are needed.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate if the nocturnal panic attack has different features and might be considered as a subtype or not. Methods: Sociodemographic data form, SCID-I, SCID-II, Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), Beck Anxiety Scale, and Bakirkoy Panic Disorder Behavioral Changes Form are applied to the participants. 51 of the 98 patients were suffering from Nocturnal Panic Attacks according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: It was revealed that 47.9% of the panic disorder patients were suffering from nocturnal panic attacks. The most frequent symptoms in nocturnal panic disorder cases were experiences of feelings like drowning, lethargy, palpitation, vertigo, fear of death, and anxiety. The existence of nocturnal panic attacks is found to be related with severity of the disorder and comorbid depression. Moreover, comorbid sleep disturbances characterized with troubles in falling asleep, difficulty in sustaining sleep, feeling tired in the morning, were observed. There were sleep related avoidances and behavioral changes. Panic disorder patients with nocturnal panic attacks were found to avoid sleeping, or going to bed alone. Conclusions: Panic disorder cases with nocturnal panic attacks had more severe symptoms. From here, it can be concluded that it might be a subtype of panic disorder.

Objective: Our aim is to compare demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with early and late-onset diagnosed as bipolar disorder type I (BPD-I) manic episode retrospectively. Method: A total of 24 elderly (?65 years old) hospitalized patients with bipolar disorder were divided into 2 groups as those with early-onset and late-onset disorder, according to a threshold of 50 years of age, and were retrospectively compared with 29 young patients (19-55 years old) in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, family history, prophylactic treatment, co-existing medical conditions, duration of hospitalization, psychiatric treatment, and clinical improvement. Results: A positive family history was also more prevalent in young patients and patients with early-onset disease. Co-existing medical conditions were more common in patients with late-onset disease. A positive correlation was found between the duration of education and duration of illness. Flight of ideas and pressured speech were more commonly observed in young patients and patients with early-onset disease. While delusions of erotomanic type were more frequent in young patients, persecution delusions were more common in elderly patients. In terms of treatment, valproate was preferred in the elderly patients and antipsychotic medications were more frequently used in late-onset elderly patients when compared to early-onset elderly patients. The duration of hospitalization was longer in elderly patients than younger ones. Conclusion: Our findings show that late-onset mania has different characteristics compared to early-onset mania in terms of clinical characteristics, symptom profile, family history, co-existing medical diseases, duration of hospitalization, and response to treatment. However, it is hard to conclude that it as a different clinical subgroup when previous studies about late-onset mania are taken into consideration. Further studies with adequate sample sizes are needed.