No abstract

There has been limited study of suicide in Islamic countries. This paper marks the first study of suicide notes in Turkey, an Islamic country. Using a classification scheme, 49 suicide notes (a rate of 34.5%) were studied. The results show that note writers do not differ greatly from other suicides. Further analysis of younger (<40) and older (>40) suicide note writers reveal few significant differences. Our results, together with the results of classification studies in different countries, suggest that caution is in order in transposing findings from one country to other countries. Future study of suicide notes should, in fact, focus on cross-cultural investigation.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of both promoter and intron polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5HTT) gene on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. For this purpose, two polymorphisms of the 5-HTT gene, which are found in the promoter (5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region) and second intron (variable number of tandem repeats) of the gene, were analyzed in 100 patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department after a mild physical trauma. None of the 5-HTT polymorphisms studied have an effect on PTSD development after a mild physical injury, but having L allele for 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic region may cause milder hyperarousal symptoms in those patients who have developed PTSD.

Our study was designed to determine whether the hormone and enzyme levels that we have mentioned in serum specimens can be used in postmortem examinations of the cases of hanging or not. Our research includes the postmortem results of the thyroid tissue pathologic examinations, serum levels of triiodothyronine (fT3), thyroxine (fT4), thyrotropin (TSH), thyroglobulin, parathormone (PTH), calcitonin, and amylase in cases of death due to hanging. The mean of fT3 and thyroglobulin levels were higher in hanging cases than those of sudden death cases. This difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In our study, we obtained data demonstrating that high postmortem levels of free T3 and thyroglobulin may be indicators of vital reaction in hanging cases. In such cases of death, it seems that applying pressure on the neck region where the thyroid gland is located causes the leakage of thyroglobulin as well as fT3, the active form of the thyroid hormone.

No abstract