Aims:  The aims of the present study were to examine the rate of nightmare disorder (ND) and to determine the levels of dream anxiety and subjective sleep quality in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Another aim was to determine whether dream anxiety was associated with childhood trauma, dissociative experiences, and subjective sleep disturbance in BPD patients. Finally, the hypothesis as to whether BPD patients with ND exhibited a more severe clinical profile than those without ND, was also tested. Methods:  A total of 88 borderline patients and 100 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy control subjects were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R Personality Disorders, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV Axis I Disorders, Van Dream Anxiety Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Dissociative Experiences Scale, and Traumatic Experiences Checklist. Subjects with codiagnoses that could affect sleep were not included. Results:  BPD patients suffered a significantly greater rate of nightmares, elevated levels of dream anxiety, and disturbed sleep quality than did controls. In the borderline group, heightened dream anxiety was correlated with higher rates of early traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms, and impaired sleep quality. Furthermore, borderline patients with ND exhibited greater psychopathology as compared to those without ND in terms of several clinical characteristics. Conclusions:  The present study provides support for a strong association between BPD, distressing nightmares, and subjective sleep quality. Recognition and management of dream and sleep disturbances in BPD patients might lead to improvements in their global clinical picture.

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Objective-Although children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for later onset of antisocial personality disorder (APD) as adults, the utility of ADHD as either a comorbid diagnosis (ADHD c ) or dimensional symptoms (ADHD d ) in predicting behaviour and substance use problems in APD subjects has not been examined. Results-Sixty five per cent of APD subjects met criteria for ADHD c diagnostic comorbidity with significantly increased rates of childhood neglect, parental divorce and suicide attempt, but not of psychopathy. APD subjects with ADHD d symptoms were noted to have earlier onset and Method-

After the 1999 Marmara Turkey earthquake, 434 volunteer rescue workers and 154 soldiers who were control subjects completed the Questionnaire for Identification with Deceased Victims and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Identification with the Deceased as Oneself, Identification with the Deceased as a Friend, Identification with the Deceased as a Family Member, and IES-R Intrusion, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal subscale scores were significantly higher in rescue workers. Identification-Self, Identification-Friend, and Identification-Family correlated with the IES-R subscale and total scores. The set of identification variables was significantly associated with group membership before, but not after, IES-R scores were controlled. Findings suggest that identification with deceased victims, not rescue work per se, is the risk factor of concern for posttraumatic stress disorder in rescue workers.

The objective of the study was to investigate the change of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid profile, leptin, ghrelin, orexin, visfatin, agouti-related protein, and cholecystokinin levels during 6 weeks of olanzapine treatment in newly diagnosed first-episode drug naive, young adult, nonobese male patients with psychosis. Twenty male participants who were all first-episode drug naive psychotic patients without prominent affective signs and symptoms and 22 healthy male controls of similar age were included. BMI, waist circumference, fasting glucose, and lipid profiles were measured, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores were obtained at baseline, during the second and sixth week of treatment, and the aforementioned neuropeptide levels were measured at baseline and during the sixth week of treatment. Treatment was associated with significant increases in BMI, waist circumference, serum triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein levels. BMI levels increased more than 7% in over 75% of the patients. Leptin increased, and ghrelin and orexin decreased significantly with olanzapine treatment, whereas cholecystokinin, visfatin, and agouti-related protein levels did not change significantly. In conclusion, consistent with previous studies, we found increased BMI, leptin and lipids during olanzapine treatment. Association of neuropeptide level changes with symptom improvement might be mediated by the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems.