Browsing by Author "Pirildar, S"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Sexual function in ankylosing spondylitis
    Pirildar, T; Müezzinoglu, T; Pirildar, S
    Purpose: We evaluated sexual function in male patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) using the validated International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). We also assessed the frequency and association of erectile dysfunction with patient age, disease duration, morning stiffness, laboratory activity, disease severity, depression status and medication use in this patient group. Materials and Methods: We evaluated sexual function, in particular erectile dysfunction (ED), using the IIEF in male patients with AS followed regularly at the outpatient clinic of rheumatology and compared results with those in healthy controls. Patient age, disease duration, morning stiffness, laboratory activity, disease severity and medication use were obtained by reviewing the medical record. Affective patient and control states were measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. The Bath AS Functional Index was used to measure functional status in AS cases. Results: To our knowledge this is the first study of the frequency of ED in men with AS (8 of 65 or 12%). Compared to healthy controls patients with AS had significantly lower erectile function, orgasmic function, intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction scores according to the IIEF, whereas sexual desire scores were also lower, although not significantly. According to self-reported patient data ED was a prominent characteristic of our population. We were not able to relate any clinical features or laboratory findings to ED except the duration of morning stiffness. The 22 men with a high degree of morning stiffness (greater than 4 hours) had lower erectile function scores compared to the 12 with AS and a low degree of morning stiffness (less than 2 hours) (18.3+/-1.6 vs 26.5+/-2.4, p<0.05). Of 65 patients with AS 25 (38%) were depressed in our study group according to the Beck Depression Inventory, while no healthy controls were depressed when a score of greater than 13 was used as the cutoff. Conclusions: ED can be seen in the course of AS. The pathogenesis of ED in patients with AS is thought to be multifactorial with disease and treatment related factors. Thus, male patients with AS, in particular those with a high degree of morning stiffness, should be encouraged to talk about their sexuality.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Serum nitric oxide metabolite levels and the effect of antipsychotic therapy in schizophrenia
    Taneli, F; Pirildar, S; Akdeniz, F; Uyanik, BS; Ari, Z
    Background. Recently it was proposed that nitric oxide metabolites (NO) may have a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and major depressive disorders. The present study was performed to assess changes in serum nitric oxide metabolite levels in schizophrenic patients compared with healthy, controls. Our secondary aim was to further evaluate the impact of psychopharmacologic treatment on circulating NO levels not assessed previously. Methods. Serum NO levels of patients with schizophrenia (n = 20) before and after 6 weeks of treatment were compared with those of healthy controls (n = 20). Severity of schizophrenia and response to treatment were assessed with positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. NO levels were estimated by Griess method in serum samples. Results. In patients with schizophrenia, pre-treatment serum NO levels were higher than those of control subjects (39.15 +/- 18.24 vs. 25.40. +/- 5.83 mumol/L, p = 0.036) and also of post-treatment values (34.41 +/- 16.35 vs. 25.40 +/- 5.83 mumol/L, p = 0.049), respectively. However, no significant difference was found between serum NO levels in pre- and post-treatment values. Conclusions. Our findings of increased serum NO levels in schizophrenic patients confirmed the role of NO in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, we found that antipsychotic drugs do not reveal significant effects on serum levels of NO in schizophrenia in a 6-week treatment regimen. Further studies with longer therapy periods may suggest some new clues for novel treatment strategies employing antioxidants and NOS inhibitors in schizophrenia. (C) 2004 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Testing a Transdiagnostic Model Including Distal and Proximal Risk Factors for Depression and Anxiety
    Gökdag, C; Arkar, H; Pirildar, S
    This study aimed to test a transdiagnostic model for depression and anxiety by including childhood trauma and parenting as the distal factors and neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) as the proximal factors. Data were obtained from clinical (major depression, panic, generalized anxiety, or comorbid disorders) and nonclinical samples. Results showed that healthy controls had lower scores than the clinical sample in all measures. Moreover, participants with a single diagnosis had lower scores than those with comorbid diagnoses. The structural regression confirmed that the proximal factor represented by neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, and RNT had a mediating role between the distal factor represented by childhood trauma and negative parenting and emotional symptoms. Results refer to common vulnerability factors underlying depression and anxiety. Such findings indicate the transdiagnostic nature of the variables, provide new insight into psychopathology, and contribute to the development of common psychotherapy programs for emotional disorders.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Low serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with schizophrenia do not elevate after antipsychotic treatment
    Pirildar, S; Gönül, AS; Taneli, F; Akdeniz, F
    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been suggested to be involved in the etiology of schizophrenia. There is a line of evidence that disruption of neurotrophins could play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia, and antipsychotics show their effect by altering levels of neurotrophins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of antipsychotics on serum BDNF levels and their relationship with the symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-two schizophrenia patients were enrolled in the study. The control group consisted of 22 age- and sex-matched physically and mentally healthy volunteers (7 male, 15 female). Serum BDNF levels and the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) scores were recorded at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. Serum BDNF levels were also recorded in the control group. Schizophrenia patients who failed to meet 30% improvement in PANSS score were excluded from the study. The baseline serum BDNF levels of schizophrenia patients were lower than those of controls (t=4.56; df=21; p<0.001). There was no correlation between serum BDNF levels and PANSS scores inpatients with schizophrenia (p>0.05). Although PANSS (for positive symptoms p<0.001, for negative symptoms p<0.001) and general psychopathology (t=20.9; df=22;p<0.001) scores improved significantly after 6 weeks of antipsychotic treatment; there was no change in BDNF levels in patients' serum (p>0.05). Our results support the view that BDNF would be associated with schizophrenia. However, we could not conclude that treatment with antipsychotics alters serum BDNF levels in patients with schizophrenia. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.