This study investigated the descriptive features of Turkish pathological gamblers. Participants were 31 male pathological gamblers and 42 "regular gamblers" who acted as controls. The subjects were diagnosed on the basis of DSM-IV pathological gambling criteria and completed the Turkish Version of South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). The nonpathological group was quite comparable with the pathological gambling group with respect to types and frequency of gambling and socio-demographic features. The data on the variables that defined and discriminated pathological gamblers from regular gamblers were collected through administration of a 68-item questionnaire, prepared by the authors. Compared to the non pathological gamblers, the pathological gamblers gambled more to recover their losses, experienced craving for gambling more often, gambled more often to obtain relief from disturbing emotions, harboured more irrational and unrealistic cognitions to rationalize their gambling behavior and suffered more emotionally, financially and socially as a result of their involvement in gambling. The results of the study suggested that Turkish pathological gamblers are very much like their counterparts in Western countries.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) in identifying Turkish pathological gamblers. Fifty-nine subjects participated in the study. The subjects were diagnosed as either pathological gamblers or not (comparison group) through the use of the DSM-IV criteria and were given the Turkish version of the SOGS. Four of the ten DSM-IV criteria were found to be problematic in the diagnosis of Turkish pathological gamblers. The data concerning reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the SOGS suggested that the SOGS can be used as a reliable and valid instrument in identifying Turkish pathological gamblers. Most (16 out of 20) of the items of the SOGS appear to work well in discriminating pathological gamblers from the subjects in the comparison group. In the case of the two DSM-IV criteria and the four SOGS items that failed to discriminate, cultural factors seemed to be responsible for the failure.

ÖzetTıbbi hastalıklar, önde gelen psikiyatrik veya davranışsal belirtiler nedeniyle birincil psikiyatrik bir bozuklukla karıştırılabilirler. Altta yatan asıl nedenin tespit edilememesinden dolayı, uygun tedaviye rağmen psikiyatrik tedavide yetersizlikle yada dirençle karşılaşılabilir. Vitamin B12 eksikliğinin zihinsel yavaşlama, deliryum, duygu-durum bozukluğu, kişilik değişikliği, akut ve kronik psikoz gibi çok farklı nörolojik ve psikiyatrik durumlarla ilişkili olabileceği iyi bilinmektedir. Burada, 41 yaşında, bayan, daha önce şizofreni tanısıyla hastaneye yatırılmış ve sonra ayaktan izlenmiş, hiç remisyona girmemiş bir hastayı sunuyoruz. Hastanın şimdiki yatışında, laboratuar sonuçları oldukça düşük serum B12 düzeyi ve buna bağlı megaloblastik anemiyi gösterdi. Hasta, kısa süreli antipsikotik kullanımı ve intramüsküler vitamin B12 yerine koyma tedavisiyle hızla düzeldi. Hasta 4 aylık izlemde psikotik belirti göstermedi ve işselliği tam olarak yerindeydi. Bu olgu, şizofreni hastalarının ayırıcı tanısında vitamin B12 eksikliğinin de düşünülmesi gerektiğinin önemini vurgulamaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: Psikoz; şizofreni; vitamin B12 eksikliği Abstract Medical disorders may be mistaken for a primary psychiatric disturbance because of prominent and commonly associated psychiatric or behavioral manifestations. The lack of recognition of the underlying medical condition precludes optimal treatment even though the psychiatric treatment might be appropriate for the symptoms, often manifesting as inadequate response or psychotropic treatment resistance. Deficiency of vitamin B12 has a well-established association with a wide variety of neurologic and psychiatric presentations includes slowed mentation, delirium, affective disorder, personality change, and acute or chronic psychosis. We present here a 41 yearold female patient who was previously hospitalized and then followed as schizophrenia without remission. During our current hospitalization, laboratory investigations confirmed very low serum B12 level and consequent megaloblastic anemia. She recovered dramatically with short term antipsychotic medication and intramuscular vitamin B12 supplementation. She remained asymptomatic and functionally independent at four months follow up. This case underscores the importance of considering vitamin B12 deficiency in the differential diagnosis of patients with schizophrenia.

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