Skin has an erogenic function, and skin lesions can have negative impact on sexual life and relationships with others. We compared fifty vitiligo patients and fifty chronic urticaria patients with fifty healthy controls to assess sexual functions; we used Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX; Mcgahuey, Gelenberg, Laukes, Moreno; & Delgado, 2000). Among females, sexual drive scores of the vitiligo and chronic urticaria groups were significantly lower than those of controls. Vitiligo and chronic urticaria groups experienced significantly more difficulties in sexual arousal and higher failure in attaining and maintaining the lubrication-swelling response of sexual excitement until the completion of sexual act than did controls. Females in the vitiligo and chronic urticaria patient groups had more difficulties in reaching orgasm than did healthy controls. Furthermore, satisfaction from orgasm of the patient groups was significantly less than controls. The total scores of the ASEX in female patient groups were significantly higher than those among controls. Satisfaction from orgasm in male patient group was less than controls. In males, other subitems of ASEX between the patient groups and controls were not significant. This study demonstrated that chronic skin diseases such as vitiligo and chronic urticaria have negative impacts on sexual life.

ObjectiveThe aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and dissociative experiences and the effect of childhood traumatic experiences on this relationship in OCD patients.MethodsFifty consecutive OCD patients and 50 healthy controls are enrolled for this study. Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form, Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), Padua Inventory (PI) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) are applied to participants.ResultsAverage DES total score in the patient group is 20.58 and in the control group it is 4.87. In the patient group, when we evaluate the relation strengths of DES total and subscale scores with PI total score, we found out that amnesia subscale has r=0.361 (p<0.01), absorption subscale has r=0.611 (p<0.01), depersonalization/derealization subscale has r=0.574 (p<0.01), and DES total score has r=0.55 (p<0.01) relation strengths with PI total score. In patient group both DES total score and CTQ total score have influence on PI total score independently from each other. In addition to this, the level of the influence of DES total scores on PI total scores is, R2=0.399 (p<0.01) and the level of the influence of CTQ total scores on PI total scores is R2=0.343 (p<0.01).ConclusionDissociative experiences are seen more frequently in OCD patients than healthy controls. Among dissociative experiences, absorption has stronger relation with OCD symptoms. The relation between OCD and dissociation is independent from and stronger than the relation between childhood traumatic experiences and OCD.

Objective: This case is a presentation of three siblings diagnosed as affective disorder with polycythaemia vera during the episodes. Polycythaemia dissappearing with the remission of affective disorder is focus of attention of these cases. Method and results: First sister is 28 years old, single, treated for manic and subclinic depressive episodes for almost ten years. Polycythaemia vera has been developed with beginning of every manic episode and disappeared with the remission of episode. The patient made venopunction of 500cc weekly during the manic episode.Second brother is 26 years old, single, polycythaemia and psychotic depression were developed rapidly after a stressful life event. Venopunction was made for four times during one month medication. Polycythaemia and depression remitted at the same time.Third brother is 24 years old, single, polycythaemia and nonpsychotic depression were developed after his brother's depression. Venopunction was made for three times during three weeks of treatment. Again polycythaemia and depression remitted at the same time. Conclusion: The siblings had no internal disease. Only first sister was on lithium treatment, 600mg/day for chronic affective disorder but her first polycythaemia attack was prior to lithium treatment.We found only one report upon the relationship between affective disorder and polycythaemia vera in which mania, delirium and polycythaemia rubra vera were documented.

Yeme bozuklukları ve duygusal istismar: Olgu sunumu Yeme bozuklukları, yeme davranışlarında birçok sorunla seyreden, oluşumunda biyolojik, psikolojik, sosyal etkenlerin önemli olduğu psikiyatrik bozukluklardır. Kişilik özellikleri ve travmatik yaşantıların yeme bozukluklarının gelişiminde önemli rolü vardır. Psikiyatrik ek tanı ve travma öyküsü yeme bozukluğu hastalarında sık rastlanabilir, prognoz ve tedavi sürecini etkileyebilir. Travma öyküsüne bulimik hastalarda, bulimik olmayan hastalara göre daha sık rastlanmaktadır. Travma ile ilgili yapılan ilk çalışmalar cinsel kötüye kullanım üzerine yoğunlaşmış olsa da, daha sonraki çalışmalarda yeme bozukluklarında travma spektrumunun cinsel kötüye kullanımdan fiziksel ya da duygusal kötüye kullanım, ihmal ve ilgisizliğe kadar uzandığı anlaşılmıştır. Bu olgu sunumunda, gelişiminde psikolojik etmenler ve travmatik yaşantılarının önemli olduğu anoreksiya nervoza (tıkınan, çıkaran tip) tanısı alan genç kadın hasta aktarılacaktır.

Objectives: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may be commonly misdiagnosed as schizophrenia due to common symptoms and accompanying psychotic manifestations in both adolescence and adulthood. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the autistic symptoms and positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia in cases diagnosed as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methods: Twenty-one patients between ages of 16-36 who have admitted to outpatient clinic have previously been diagnosed as autism spectrum disorders (autistic disorder, Asperger Syndrome, pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified) according to DSM-IV diagnosis criteria, have an IQ of 50 or above, have been included in the study. Control group have been composed of 21 patients between ages of 21-39 who have been diagnosed as schizophrenia according to DSM-IV diagnosis criteria and have an IQ of 50 or above. Psychiatric assessment has been made with Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), SCID-I and WAIS. Results: The negative symptoms of ASD are found to be higher than schizophrenia cases where as the positive symptoms of schizophrenia cases are found to be higher than ASD cases. Twenty percent (n = 4) of OSB cases do not meet autism symptoms while none of the schizophrenia cases meet autism symptoms. In one case of the ASD group, additional schizophrenia diagnosis was present. Conclusions: In this study, it has been found that negative symptoms of schizophrenia are widely observed in adolescent and adult patients followed with ASD diagnosis. Consequently, autism spectrum disorders are manifested common symptoms with schizophrenia in adolescence and adulthood.