Publications by authors named "Yunus Balcik"

Background: Neurological soft signs (NSS) are subtle sensorimotor abnormalities that have been observed in various mental disorders with neurodevelopmental origin. While NSS have been extensively examined in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), preliminary evidence also suggests that NSS are also present in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, a transdiagnostic examination of the severity of NSS in BPD compared to SZ is still lacking.

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Objective: The phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of adult patients with epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID) is less clear than in children. We investigated an adult patient cohort to further elucidate this and inform the genetic testing approach.

Methods: Fifty-two adult patients (30 male, 22 female) with epilepsy, at least mild ID and no known genetic or acquired cause were included and phenotyped.

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Introduction: When the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached Europe in 2020, a German governmental order forced clinics to immediately suspend elective care, causing a problem for patients with chronic illnesses such as epilepsy. Here, we report the experience of one clinic that converted its outpatient care from personal appointments to telemedicine services.

Methods: Documentations of telephone contacts and telemedicine consultations at the Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main were recorded in detail between March and May 2020 and analyzed for acceptance, feasibility, and satisfaction of the conversion from personal to telemedicine appointments from both patients' and medical professionals' perspectives.

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Article Synopsis
  • NEXMIF encephalopathy is linked to intellectual disability, autism, and epilepsy, primarily caused by pathogenic variants in the NEXMIF gene.
  • The study involved 87 patients (63 females and 24 males) and identified a high prevalence of developmental delays and seizures, particularly in males, who exhibited more severe impairments.
  • Key findings show that all identified NEXMIF variants lead to premature stop codons or damaging changes, predominantly occurring de novo, with some cases of somatic mosaicism in affected families.
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Background: The systematic analysis of disease-specific costs is becoming increasingly more relevant in an economically oriented healthcare system. Chronic diseases are of particular interest due to the long duration as well as frequent hospitalization and physician visits. Epilepsy is a frequent neurological disorder affecting all age groups with the clinical hallmark of paroxysmal epileptic seizures, which are often associated with injuries.

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Article Synopsis
  • MRI is an important tool for diagnosing neuromuscular disorders, but studies on its use for myotonic dystrophy types 1 (DM1) and 2 (DM2) are limited.
  • In a study of 21 DM1 and 10 DM2 patients, researchers used 3.0 T MRI to evaluate fatty infiltration in leg muscles, finding significant differences in muscle involvement between the two types.
  • DM1 patients showed earlier and more severe muscle involvement compared to DM2, with specific patterns of progression identified for both disorders, indicating that some muscles may be affected before clinical weakness is noticeable.
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