Browsing by Author "Gokcen, Cem"

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Cytokine expression profiles in Autism spectrum disorder: A multi-center study from Turkey
(2020) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Evren; Gokcen, Cem; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Karadag, Mehmet; Mutluer, Tuba; Yektas, Cigdem; Coban, Nurdan; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Coskun, Seyma; Acikbas, Ufuk; Guler, Gulen; Topal, Zehra; Celik, Fatma; Altintas, Ebru; Giray, Asli; Aka, Yeliz; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 0000-0001-9854-7220; 0000-0003-2735-4805; 32563959; AAI-9626-2021; AAH-1671-2019; G-8832-2015
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. The pathogenesis of ASD is not completely understood, but a growing body of research has demonstrated that the immune response may be a contributing factor in the etiology and/or ontogeny of ASD. The aim of this study was to determine the expression levels of IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-alpha and TGF-beta in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with ASD and healthy controls in order to determine the contributions of cytokines to ASD. Within the study timeframe, 195 children with ASDs (80.5% male) and 162 controls (73.6% male) were enrolled. Most children with ASD had a comorbid disorder (n = 114, 58.5%), with the most common diagnoses as Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD, n = 64, 32.8%) and ADHD (n = 64, 32.8%). The majority of children with ASD had severe autistic symptoms as evaluated via Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS, n = 130, 64.6%). The mean CARS score in the ASD sample was 40.8 (S.D. = 7.6). The patients with ASD were found to have significantly higher levels of IL-6 (p < 0.001) and significantly lower levels of IL-17 (p < 0.05, all Bonferroni corrected). Treatment tended to affect IL-4 levels. Lastly, discriminant function analysis (DFA) revealed that a combination of IL-6, IL-17 and IL-1 alpha correctly classified 56.6% of cases. Despite extensive immunological evidence suggesting immune system aberrations, further research is required to clarify the relationship between immune profiles and ASD symptoms.
Determination of Beliefs, Attitudes of Consulting Teachers towards Mental Diseases, and Referral Reasons of Their Students to a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
(2016) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Durmus, Emine; Gokcen, Cem; Toros, Fevziye; Guler, Gulen; Evegu, Erkan; 0000-0002-2918-7871; AAI-9626-2021
Objective: In the present study, the aim was to evaluate the beliefs and attitudes of school counselors about mental illnesses, and reasons why counselors referred students to psychiatrists. Method: The study was carried out with 118 school counselors. Data were collected with sociodemographic information form and Beliefs toward Mental Illness Scale (BMIS). Results: According to study results, 15.3% of school counselors stated that they referred to a psychiatrist for their own psychological problems at some time, and 32% of subjects referred their own children to a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The proportion of teachers who referred their students to a child and adolescent psychiatrist was 89.8%. Scores of school counselors were 80.41 +/- 9.32 in overall BMIS, 28.82 +/- 5.35 in dangerousness, 43.83 +/- 4.93 in poor social and interpersonal skills, and 7.76 +/- 1.81 points in incurability subscales. No statistically significant relationship was determined between mean scores of participants and gender, age, marital status, institution where they work, working duration, and graduate program they attended. The four most frequent student referral causes were conduct disorder (31.10%), attention deficit (16.10%), depressive mood (14.72%) and hyperactivity (12.20%). Conclusion: It is noticed that school counselors have negative beliefs about mental disorders, feel shame because of them, and they regard these patients dangerous. On the other hand, participants believe that these disorders lead to despair in individuals and impair interpersonal communication. According to the literature search, this study is the first investigating beliefs and attitudes of school counselors about mental illnesses, and reasons why they refer students to psychiatrists.
An Exploratory, Single-Center Study of Factors Associated with Child Marriage Among Syrian Female Adolescents Residing in Turkey
(2022) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Tufan, Ali Evren; Celik, Fatma; Gokcen, Cem; Bag, Harika Gozukara; Servi, Gulay; Karali, Mehtap; Bahsi, Gamze; Servi, Ceyhun; Alatli, Resat; Kandemir, Betul; Aytekin, Neslihan; Kutuk, Ozgur; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9854-7220; AAH-1671-2019
This exploratory study aimed to evaluate factors related with child marriage compared to unmarried status in female adolescent residents in a refugee camp in Turkey. The rate of child marriage and developmental status of offspring from those marriages were reported. A research team evaluated married female youth and their offspring for psychopathologies according to DSM-5 criteria and ascertained lifetime traumatic events among mothers. We compared the traumatic experiences and psychopathologies of married females and controls. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most common diagnosis in both groups and child brides reported greater cumulative traumatic experiences and elevated rates of PTSD. More than one-tenth (i.e., 15.1%) of offspring of child brides displayed developmental delays and 12.1% were diagnosed with global developmental delay.
High Depression Symptoms and Burnout Levels Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Multi-Center, Cross-Sectional, Case-Control Study (Jan, 10.1007/s10803-021-04874-4, 2021)
(2021) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Ali Evren; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Guler, Gulen; Celik, Fatma; Altintas, Ebru; Gokcen, Cem; Karadag, Mehmet; Yektas, Cigdem; Mutluer, Tuba; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Topal, Zehra; Acikbas, Ufuk; Giray, Asli; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 0000-0001-9854-7220; 33591437; AAI-9626-2021
Novel inflammatory targets for immunotherapies in pediatric patients with trichotillomania
(2020) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Ali Evren; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Mutluer, Tuba; Gokcen, Cem; Karadag, Mehmet; Yektas, Cigdem; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Aksu, Gulen Guler; Topal, Zehra; Giray, Asli; Celik, Fatma; Acikbas, Ufuk; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 32113788; AAI-9626-2021
Immune dysregulation may be important in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive and related disordersandbody-focusedrepetitivebehaviors, such as Trichotillomania (TTM). The role of inflammation and inflammatory markers in TTM has received relatively little attention. This study was aimed to determine the expression levels of inflammatory markers (i.e. IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-alpha and TGF-5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with TTM and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with clinical variables. Seventy-seven patients with TTM and 107 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was collected in standardized conditions. The mean age of patients and controls did not differ significantly (10.8 +/- 4.4 and 12.0 +/- 3.2 years; respectively). The majority of patients with TTM and controls were females (n = 55, 71.4 % and n = 55, 51.4 %; respectively); with a greater preponderance of females among TTM. Patients with TTM had significantly elevated expression levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-17 compared to controls. However, the expression level of IL-4 was significantly reduced in TTM patients compared to controls. Accordingly, we found a proinflammatory state in TTM and those findings may suggest novel treatment options for TTM and further, crossdisciplinary studies focusing on neuro- inflammation in TTM conducted on larger samples are needed.
Screening results of psychomotor development of children at inpatient unit of a training hospital in Turkey
(2019) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Gokcen, Cem; Aksu, Gulen Guler; Akin, Fatih; Kardas, Aysenur; Sarp, Ayse Sevde; Tufan, Ali Evren
Purpose: This study aimed to assess the psychomotor development of inpatient children in the pediatrics clinic and referring the children who have problems. Materials and Methods: Four hundred twenty children between 4-72 months at inpatient unit of the department of Pediatrics at Konya State Research hospital were included in the present study. A child development specialist who was unaware of the history and neurological examination of the cases administered Denver developmental screening test (DDST) II to all children once. Children who were found to be abnormal or questionable were further evaluated by the child and adolescent psychiatrist. Results: Three hundred forty five (82%) were found to be 'normal', 12 (2.8%) were found to be 'questionable' and 64 (15.2%) cases were found to be 'abnormal' with regard to DDST II. Post evaluation of questionable and abnormal cases by the child and adolescent psychiatrist, 26 cases were referred to special education institutions with the diagnosis of global developmental delay and 2 cases with the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder. Conclusion: It is important to apply screening tests for developmental evaluation to each child at inpatient pediatric clinics in order to diagnose developmental delays earlier.