Part of the familial factor of alcoholism is associated with the existence of genetic vulnerability. Genetic factors which interact with the pathogenesis of alcoholism are nevertheless complex, partial and for the moment partly unknown at the biological level. Recently, many association studies have been published concerning alcohol-dependence and genes coding for the second dopamine receptor. These associations, which have had positive replications, raise many questions. First of all, should the inheritance of alcoholism be regarded as a definitive fact? Secondly what is inherited? It could be alcoholism in general, a component of this disease (for instance, dependence on, sensitivity to or the seeking-process for alcohol), a specific pattern of drinking, presence of complications linked to alcohol abuse, or more general features, common to many addiction diseases. Thirdly, how could dopamine be linked to alcoholism? Furthermore, how should these positive associations be considered, given that two of these studies were negative, and that all linkage studies were negative. Lastly, are there other clues and ways of finding genetic vulnerability factors for alcohol abuse?

Starting from the hypothesis that alcoholics have a specific semantic network which causes a perceptual-processing bias, we tested 30 male inpatients and 20 healthy male controls. Our modified card version of the Stroop color-naming task consisted of a neutral and critical word condition. The results revealed that alcoholic patients showed a small information processing bias under the critical experimental condition (alcohol-related words); although this was only a trend in the expected direction and statistically not significant. However, neuropsychological impairment of the patients was demonstrated with the “standard Stroop procedure”. The most significant deficits were found in the interference task, which requires cognitive flexibility.

The authors examined whether substance abusers have more maladaptive thinking patterns than controls. The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) was administered to 38 substance abusers and 30 healthy age-matched controls. Nineteen substance abusers (50%) were depressed and 19 were non-depressed. Both depressed and non-depressed substance abusers had significantly higher DAS scores than controls. Depressed substance abusers had higher scores than non-depressed substance abusers. There was no correlation between age, sex, age of onset or the nature of the substance used and DAS scores in either group of patients. There was a trend for an elevation of DAS scores with chronicity of dependence among depressed substance abusers. The results support the hypothesis of the presence of maladaptive thinking patterns among substance abusers, and suggest a need for further exploration of their cognitive styles and of the use of cognitive therapy in the treatment of addiction.

This uncontrolled study presents 188 patients primarily diagnosed as addictive alcoholics and fulfilling the DSM III diagnostic criteria for panic disorder or major depression, 104 and 84 patients, respectively. The study focused on clinical outcome of pharmacological intervention with combined fluoxetine and disulfiram treatment. The patients were followed for (up to) 40 months. A good clinical outcome for both groups was found in 70%. In a subgroup of 37 patients ‘quality of life’ was assessed using quality of life scales. An appropriate correlation emerged between clinical judgement of outcome and the patients’ self-rating. Although the study was limited by being uncontrolled, the results have shown, that specific treatment in a group of alcoholics with comorbid psychopathology within the anxiety and depression spectrum is possible even after many years of addictive alcohol abuse. The necessity for proper psychiatric assessment is stressed.

The prolactin (PRL) responses to 5 mg im haloperidol were assessed in the drug-free state and after one month treatment with neuroleptics in 14 male schizophrenic patients who had never received drug treatment, and in 20 male patients who had discontinued their neuroleptic treatment for periods of two months to one year. Drug experienced patients showed lower PRL increases after acute haloperidol (mean 31.7 ng/ml) than drug-naive patients (mean responses 43.4 ng/ml). After treatment with neuroleptics in doses appropriate for the best clinical response, the baseline PRL levels were similar in the two groups, and im haloperidol did not cause any further PRL increases. The results provide evidence that after discontinuation of neuroleptics, the hypothalamic-pituitary dopamine receptors are subsensitive, and remain in that state for long periods of time.

We present the values for the amount of transitions, for the total stage duration and for the first time of occurrence (latency) of a stage. A test aimed at evaluating probability values for the transition from one sleep stage to another was applied to the hypnograms of ten patients with endogenous depression and of ten normal controls. Sleep data (EEG, EMG, EOG) of each subject were recorded on magnetic tape and paper for three consecutive nights. Following sleep stage classification, portions of hypnograms of 480 min, further divided into sub-periods, were retained for the purpose of the test. The results proved that significant differences between depressed and control subjects exist among the data corresponding to various sleep stages. These findings also provided useful statistical indications in order to reduce the amount of computing needed by an automatic classifier.

Calcium channel blockers increase the capacity of the urinary bladder. The antienuretic activity of verapamil was examined in young adult enuretics. Eleven drug-free, healthy, sleep-related enuretic males, were treated for two weeks with verapamil (240 mg, per os, at 9 pm). Verapamil failed to display an antienuretic effect.

In vivo NMR 31p spectroscopy is a non invasive, non ionizing method of exploration of energy and phospholipid metabolism in the brain. This study consisted of comparing 31p spectra in five patients with Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type (SDAT) with those of four controls of similar ages. Abnormal phosphonionocsters (PME) concentrations, either high or low, were found in the patients, but statistical analysis did not elicit any significant difference relative to controls.