Considering the association of sleep disturbance and fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS), we investigated the presence of sleep disturbances that may be related to fatigue by using objective and subjective measures. We included 27 MS patients with fatigue, 10 MS patients without fatigue and 13 controls. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index score showed significant differences between patient groups and controls. Beck depression inventory scores were significantly higher in fatigued than non-fatigued patients. Comparison of patient groups and controls revealed significant differences for time in bed, sleep efficiency index, sleep continuity index, wake time after sleep onset, total arousal index and periodic limb movement arousal index. Our study confirms that MS causes sleep fragmentation in terms of both macro and microstructure. Fatigue in MS could be partially explained by disruption of sleep microstructure, poor subjective sleep quality and depression.

PurposeThe Purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the evolution of reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Istanbul Stock Exchange companies.Design/methodology/approachIn order to monitor the evolution of reporting on CSR relevant information in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 annual reports of the ISE‐30 Index Companies were examined. The data collected were used to study in depth the following issues: information disclosed related to corporate governance; environmental policy; and social policy.FindingsThe study highlights that the companies' attitude towards CSR is encouraging and they try to fulfill their duties as a corporate citizen regarding the social responsibility.Research limitations/implicationsThe study covers only 20 companies, which were in the ISE‐30 Index for all of the three years in order to provide comparable information. Since the annual reports of two of these 20 companies cannot be obtained, the research was conducted on the annual reports of the remaining companies that published their annual reports in their websites.Practical implicationsAccording to the study, the listed companies' disclosures on CSR are not at a desirable level in respect of the best practices. The study reveals that the Turkish companies should give more weight to reporting, especially on environmental and social issues.Originality/valueAlthough similar research had been conducted in various countries, this is one of the first studies related to reporting on CSR conducted in the ISE‐30 Index in Turkey.

This empirical study focus on demonstrating the relation between of earnings and stock returns by using data from Istanbul Stock Exchange of Turkey (Borsa Istanbul-BIST). This study analyzes the presence of earnings management practices by using financial information of the Turkish listed manufacturing companies. For this purpose, it was tested that low performance companies are prone to apply income increase practices than high performance companies. It was first approved that companies with low performance employ these practices. Thereafter it was examined if these earnings management practices decrease the value relevance of earnings. To test the hypothesis a model is created to present the relation between reported earnings and stock returns. Our findings display that low performance companies tend to increase their earnings so that they can hide their low performance. Our results point out that there is significant and positive relationship between earnings and market adjusted stock returns for whole sample, however there is no significant difference between adjusted market returns of high and low performance companies. In the literature, earnings management and value relevance studies are mostly based on US data. This study is the first paper that examines the relationship between earnings management, value relevance and financial performance in Turkish manufacturing companies.

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Introduction: Depression and anxiety are frequently reported by MS patients. Studies examining the association between depression, anxiety and personality in MS patients is very limited. Objectives: Our objective is to compare temperament and character, depression and anxiety in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) patients with healthy controls and inquire into the association between these entities. Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the possible presence of spesific temperament and character profiles in RRMS patients. Methods: Seventy one RRMS patients and 50 age and gender matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Diagnostic neurological examination, sociodemographic and clinical data including the type of MS, duration of the disease, number of relapses, current treatment and the duration of treatment were recorded. SCID-I, Standardized Minimental State Examination, Temperament and Character Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory were administered. Results: Patients scored significantly higher in Harm Avoidance and lower in Novelty Seeking, Persistence and Self-directedness than the healthy controls. Depression, anxiety, temperament and character scores were not correlated with disability and the number of relapses. Conclusions: Temperament and character, depression and anxiety seems to be independent of the disability and the number of relapses in RRMS patients.