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IntroductionThe aim of this study was to compare the serum brain derived neurotropic factor (BNDF) levels of patients with schizophrenia who had never received an antipsychotic treatment with those of a control group. Also, to analyze the relationship between the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) scores and BDNF levels of the patients during the period they were drug-naive.Materials and methodsThe sample of the study comprised patients who presentedto the Psychiatry Clinic and were admitted after a distinctive schizophrenia diagnosis was made in accordance with the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis classification and who were not using and never had any antipsychotic medicine. A total of 160 participants were included in the study, 80 of whom had schizophrenia patients and 80 constituted the age- and sex-matched healthy control group. Before the start of the treatment, the serum samples to be checked for the BDNF levels were collected from the patients.ResultsThe difference between the average BDNF levels of the groups were statistically significant (t = -5.25; p˂.001). An analysis as to whether there was a relation between the BDNF levels and the drug-naïve duration indicated no correlations. An examination of the relationship between PANSS scores and BDNF levels of the patients yielded no correlations.DiscussionSerum BDNF levels seem to be one of the indicators of schizophrenia and its progress; nevertheless, we still do not have sufficient information about this neurotropic factor. In light of our study, the neurodevelopmental changes that occur at disease onset of the illness prominently affect the progress of the illness, which highlights the importance of the treatment in the early stages.

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Objectives: Schizophrenia is a disorder with different clinical features. Schizophrenia may start insidiously and slow and go on for many years. But the negative symptoms and deficiency symptoms leading to social deterioration may come to the forefront. All these factors are taken into consideration, our aim in this study was to examine the demographic and clinical effects of symptoms on schizophrenic patients who have not yet been treated. Methods: Eighty patients who were admitted to the Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, who did not have any previous antipsychotic medications and who did not use medications at the time of admission and who met the criteria for schizophrenia according to the DSM-5. Sociodemografic Data Form and the PANSS scale were used to assess the clinical status of the patients. Results: When the demographic characteristics of the participants were examined, 33 (41.2%) were female and 47 (58.8%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 31.08±9.37; mean education year was 8.76±3.53. When the patients participating in the study were evaluated in terms of gender, marital status, working status, smoking status, and family history, no statistical differences were found between the groups in terms of their PANSS scores (p>0.05). However, the PANSS Negative subscale scores (p<.001), general psychopathology scores (p=0.006), and total PANSS scores (p=0.003) were statistically significantly different between the three groups when the patients were untreated for 0-1 years, 1-5 years, and 5 years. Conclusions: In this study none of the sociodemographic factors we assessed had any effect on symptom severity. However, there are different results in the literature regarding gender, age, marital status and working status. Besides, it has been determined that the most important clinical manifestation in our study is the period without treatment. Further studies should identify demographic and clinical features that affect schizophrenic symptom changes.

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Background/aim: Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are full agonists of both cannabinoid receptors. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of SC users are mainly defined as diffusion restriction and T2/FLAIR hyperintensity. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies examining SC users have shown contradictory results. The aim of this study was to define white matter (WM) changes of SC users using DTI. Materials and methods: The study included 22 patients with a history of using SC for 5-37 months, and 22 healthy, age and sexmatched control subjects. A total of 41 diffusion gradient directions were used in the acquisition of diffusion imaging data. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) values were obtained. ROIs were placed on WM areas of normal appearance. Results: In the SC users, significantly lower FA values were determined in the left temporal lobe (216.2 ± 58.9 vs. 263 ± 27.4; P = 0.002) and right hippocampus (224.5 ± 61.5 vs. 255 ± 24.3; P = 0.040). The ADC values of the hippocampus and temporal lobe were significantly higher than those of the control group on both the left and right sides. Conclusion: The SC use causes WM microstructural changes, especially in the hippocampus and temporal lobes. DTI is a useful tool to reveal WM changes in SC addicts and can be used earlier than conventional MRI.