[Substance abuse in middle and old age-everyday drug alcohol and nicotine: use and abuse]. / Substanzmissbrauch im mittleren und höheren Erwachsenenalter--Alltagsdrogen Alkohol und Nikotin: Gebrauch und Missbrauch.

Alcohol as a semi-luxury item is socially accepted in our society and its usage constitutes a normative behaviour. The transition from consumption to abuse is often rapid. Results supply evidence for widely spread alcohol addictions in Germany. The following paper examines the consumption and the abuse of alcohol using the data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adulthood (ILSE). The findings of a questionnaire investigating diet and medical examination data [interview data referring to alcohol consumption and laboratory findings concerning Gamma-Glutamyl-Transferase levels (Gamma-GT-levels)] based on two cohorts (years of birth 1930-1932 and 1950-1952) from centres of investigation in Heidelberg and Leipzig are adopted in this study. The centre comparison indicates higher alcohol consumption in the Leipziger study participants. The findings register less alcohol usage at the second measurement point, where as the Gamma-GT-levels rise and a greater endangering of health can, therefore, be noted. Besides alcohol, cigarettes are a widely accepted everyday drug in Germany. The health risks are enormous (e. g. high blood pressure, bronchitis and lung cancer). The smoking habits of the two cohorts will be described at two measurement points concerning participants from Heidelberg and Leipzig. The cohort comparison demonstrates a significant disadvantage of the younger women, although, as for as, the men are concerned no clear difference can be found.

[Substance abuse in middle and old age -- general abuse]. / Substanzmissbrauch im mittleren und höheren Erwachsenenalter -- Allgemeiner Missbrauch.

The problems of drug-addicted middle- and older-aged people have been disregarded for a long time. However, results show a risky consumption of illegal drugs in the 18- to 59-year-old German population. The following paper will analyse the substance abuse of alcohol, sedatives, cannabis, stimulants, cocaine, opiates and other drugs not described more closely (all of which lead to health problems) using the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adulthood (ILSE). Data collection is based on two cohorts (1930-1932 and 1950-1952) at two measurement points (1. MMP: N = 1006, 2. MMP: N = 900) in centres of investigation in Heidelberg and Leipzig. The "Substance Abuse Section" of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) was used for the evaluation. The abuse of alcohol can be registered as the focal point. Men consume more alcohol, while women tend to take sedatives, stimulants, opiates and other substances more often. The East-West comparison shows the importance of accessibility. At both measurement points, abuse of more substance groups was determined in the Heidelberg centre. As for as the abuse rates are concerned, a reduction of all the substance groups can be registered for the second measurement point.

[Case studies of the effect of tyrosine administration in children with phenylketonuria on cognitive processes]. / Fallstudien zum Einfluss von Tyrosingaben bei phenylketonurischen Kindern auf kognitive Prozesse.

Eight patients with phenylketonuria and low protein nutrition were treated in a double blind crossover study for the time of 3 month with 150 mg tyrosine per kg body weight and day and placebo thereafter or vice versa. The concentration of phenylalanine in serum was not influenced by the administration of tyrosine whereas tyrosine in serum markedly increased. Psychological tests were 7 times repeated in monthly intervals. From the study it is to suggest that there is an improvement of the test results caused by an effect of training due to the repeated tests and an additional improvement caused by tyrosine.