Second and fourth (2D:4D) digit ratio in heroin and cannabis addicted patients.

The etiology of addiction has not yet been fully elucidated. The ratio between the length of the second and fourth fingers (2D:4D ratio) has been linked with prenatal androgen concentrations, but also with addictive behvaiors. Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the differences of 2D:4D ratio of individuals with cannabis and heroin addiction by examining them together with the control group. A total of sixty two male patients (33 opiate use disorder and 29 cannabis use disorder) with substance use disorder and the twenty-nine healthy controls were included in the present investigation. We obtained the lengths of 2D and 4D of the subjects by using sensitive calipers and calculated the 2D:4D. Heroin-addicted patients had lower 2D:4D ratio in in the right hand (significant difference between control group) (p < 0.001), there was no significant difference found between heroin-cannabis (p = 0.242) and control-cannabis 2D:4D ratios (p < 0.06). In the left hand, it was significant between the heroin-control groups (p < 0.037) and the cannabis-control groups (p < 0.023), while it was not significant between the heroin-cannabis groups (p = 1). In conclusion, we suggest that heroin-and cannabis addicted patients seem to have a lower ratio of 2D:4D compared to healthy control subjects. Our findings can be considered promising as to whether prenatal hormonal factors are important in the etiopathogenesis of addiction.

Retinal changes in generalized anxiety disorder patients.

OBJECTIVE: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a method that allows high-resolution cross-sectional imaging of biological tissues. It was suggested that changes in the cranial structure or functions would be reflected in the retina. OCT has been an important method in the diagnosis and follow-up of diseases via morphometric or quantitative retinal measurements. Free radicals, inflammatory processes, and neurotransmission disorders play a role in the etiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The study aimed to demonstrate the retinal changes in GAD patients due to neurodegeneration based on the comparison of the OCT data of the GAD patients and controls, and the differences between OCT findings of GAD patients and those of controls. METHODS: The study group included 21 GAD patients. The control group included 21 individuals without any known psychiatric or organic disease, including eye diseases. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the macular volumes (MV) of the GAD and control groups, the macular volume was lower in the GAD group. There were positive correlations between BDI scores and MV, GCLT, RNFLT-i, RNFLT-n, between BAE scores and (RNFLT-n), and between the CGI severity scale scores and MV, RNFLT-n, and RNFLT-t. CONCLUSION: OCT analysis of the GAD patients demonstrated that MV values were lower when compared to the control group. Patients with GAD should be screened for these retinal changes. OCT, a simple, non-invasive, and relatively inexpensive method could be employed as a supplementary method in the follow-up of GAD patients.

Emotional intelligence and problem solving skills in individuals who attempted suicide.

AIM: Based on our clinical observations, low emotional intelligence level and problem-solving skills may have play a role in suicide attempts. The present study is aimed to investigate the emotional intelligence levels and the correlation between problem solving skills and suicide attempts in individuals who already attempted suicide. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study was conducted on twenty-five individuals who attempted suicide and 25 healthy controls with similar sociodemographic characteristics. All participants were asked to fill in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) and Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS). FINDINGS: It was determined that the patient group BAI scores and BDI scores were significantly higher when compared to the control group (p < 0.01, p < 0.01). The total EIS and emotional awareness, emotion management, self-motivation, empathy and relationship control subscale scores of the patient group were significantly lower when compared to the control group (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p = 0.047).PSI scores were significantly higher in the patient group when compared to the control group (p < 0.01). There was a negative correlation between PSI total score and EIS subscale scores. CONCLUSION: It was observed that these individuals experienced more difficulty in solving problems when compared to healthy individuals, however as their emotional intelligence levels increased, their problem-solving skills increased as well.