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AimThe relationship between psychological stress and platelet activation has been widely studied. It is well known that platelets may reflect certain biochemical changes that occur in the brain when different mental conditions occur. Platelet 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is also extensively studied in psychiatry. The mean platelet volume (MPV), the accurate measure of platelet size, has been considered a marker and determinant of platelet function. The aim of the present study was to search for any probable difference in the MPV of subjects with panic disorder (PD).MethodsA total of 37 drug-free subjects, aged 18 to 65 years, diagnosed with PD, with or without agoraphobia, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria and 45 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Platelet count and MPV were measured and recorded for each subject.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of female/male ratio, age, or body mass index between the PD group and control group (P=0.91, P=0.82, and P=0.93, respectively). The MPV was found to be significantly lower in the PD group compared with the control group (8.8±0.9 fL vs 9.2±0.8 fL; P=0.02). All the participants had MPV values in the standard range of 6.9–10.8 fL.ConclusionWe concluded that abnormalities of the 5-HT1A receptor function in the central nervous system of subjects with a diagnosis of PD are also mirrored in as an alteration in platelet activity. Measurements of platelet activity may be used as a tool for neuropsychiatric and psychopharmacological research and for studying how certain mental diseases and medications affect the central nervous system.

The negative effect of the disorder on the biological and functional status and daily living activities in BD patients also influences the patients' sexual experiences and satisfaction. The negative effects of chronic diseases such as BD should therefore be defined and the disorder evaluated from a wide perspective during the treatment process.

We aimed to investigate whether agoraphobia (A) in panic disorder (PD) has any effects on oxidative and anti-oxidative parameters. We measured total antioxidant capacity (TAC), paraoxonase (PON), arylesterase (ARE) antioxidant and malondialdehyde (MDA) oxidant levels using blood samples from a total of 31 PD patients with A, 22 PD patients without A and 53 control group subjects. There was a significant difference between the TAC, PON, ARE and MDA levels of the three groups consisting of PD with A, PD without A and the control group. The two-way comparison to clarify the group creating the difference showed that the TAC, PON, and ARE antioxidants were significantly lower in the PD with A group compared to the control group while the MDA oxidant was significantly higher. There was no significant difference between the PD without A and control groups for TAC, PON, ARE and MDA levels. We clearly demonstrated that the oxidative stress and damage to the anti-oxidative mechanism are significantly higher in the PD group with A. These findings suggest that oxidative/anti-oxidative mechanisms may play a more important role on the pathogenesis of PB with A.

ObjectivePatients with schizophrenia often experience comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Within these patients, a significant subgroup developed secondary obsessive-compulsive symptoms during treatment with clozapine.MethodIn this paper, we report on four cases in which adjunctive therapy with aripiprazole was tested to alleviate obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia.ResultsAll four patients had a significant improvement in obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The combination of clozapine and aripiprazole was well tolerated.ConclusionThis case series demonstrates the clinical efficacy of aripiprazole adjunctive therapy with clozapine in schizophrenic patients with comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Larger-sampled and controlled studies are required in order to test and confirm these observations.