[Effects of sodium oxybutyrate on the level of catecholamines and serotonin and monoamine oxidase activity in patients with alcoholism]. / Vliianie natriia oksibutirata na urovni katekholaminov, serotonina i aktivnost' monoaminoksidazy u bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Sodium salt of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (Na-GHB) was administered to 37 drug-free alcoholic men in placebo controlled study. The psychotropic effect was evaluated using psychometric scale of 4 ranges. Changes in plasma levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and platelet MAO-B activity were assessed. The psychotropic effect was observed in 27 (76%) patients. The baseline of dopamine concentration was significantly correlated with the expression of psychotropic effect. Na-GHB decreased dopamine concentration in responders. The possible involvement of dopaminergic system in the realization of psychotropic effect of Na-GHB was discussed.

[Plasma levels of biogenic amines in patients with various forms of the alcohol abstinence syndrome]. / Soderzhanie biogennykh aminov v plazme krovi u bol'nykh s razlichnymi formami alkogol'nogo abstinentnogo sindroma.

Norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) blood plasma levels were measured in 40 alcoholic patients (2nd stage) during overt manifestations of the alcohol abstinence syndrome (AAS). Twenty-five healthy individuals served as controls. The patients were divided into four groups according to the structure of their AAS-related psychopathology and the progress of the disease. In the fast-progressive group with autonomic disorders prevalent in the AAS structure, the excitability, NE and DA levels were elevated. In the group with prevalent asthenic-neurotic and affective disorders, the 5-HT levels were lower than controls. The group with fast-progressive course of the disease and schizoaffective disorders had both the 5-HT and NE levels lowered. The authors discuss the possible impact of the results on perfectioning of the differential AAS therapies.

[Types of alcoholic abstinence and the dexamethasone test]. / Tipy alkogol'noi abstinentsii i deksametazonovyi test.

The study covered 54 males with stage II alcoholism with various types of the abstinence syndrome in the state of acute abstinence (the first day of alcohol discontinuation) and 10 healthy males. The baseline cortisol levels were radioimmunoassayed and the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was performed. The baseline levels of cortisol were elevated in all 4 types of the abstinence syndrome, being significantly higher in the dysphoric type. An abnormal DST was observed in 25 patients (46.3%) and was significantly more frequent in the depressive and schizothymovegetative types of the abstinence syndrome as against the asthenovegetative and dysphoric types and control. Psychometric examination revealed certain differences in the degree of abstinence symptoms and some clinical characteristics of the disease between patients with a pathologic and a normal DST.

[Genetic constitution differences in patients with various forms of alcoholism]. / Genetiko-konstitutsional'nye razlichiia bol'nykh s raznymi formami alkogolizma.

Four groups of alcoholics were identified, according to the structure of psychopathological disturbances outside the acute period of abstinence and progression of the disease. There were inter-group differences in the level of familial history of alcoholism, alcoholic psychoses and psychic diseases, as well as in the mean values of some parameters of dermatoglyphics of palms, colour perception and taste perception of phenylthiocarbamide. The used clinical criteria of patients' distribution reflect the constitutional-genetic differences between them, which should be taken into consideration in developing differential pharmacotherapy.

Types of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and dexamethasone suppression test.

Several data show a biological heterogeneity of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The determination of basic cortisol level and the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) were performed in 10 healthy men and 54 male alcoholics in the stage of acute withdrawal divided into four groups, according to their clinical symptoms. In 46% of the patients the DST was positive (vs. nil in controls). The positive DST was significantly higher in subjects where depressive symptoms especially of endogenous character prevailed. The cortisol level was significantly increased in subjects characterized predominantly by anxiety-irritation. The possible explanations of these findings are discussed. The clinical picture of the withdrawal syndrome may be determined by disturbed functions of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal system (HPAS). Correction of such disorders seems to be sufficient when treating acute withdrawal syndromes of different types.

[Affective disorders in alcoholic patients during periods of abstinence]. / Affektivnye rasstroistva u bol'nykh alkogolizmom vne periodov zloupotrebleniia spirtnym.

On the basis of a clinico-psychopathological examination of 158 patients with chronic alcoholism in the period of abstinence the author has specified 4 types of affective disturbances: astheno-vegetative sub-depression, dysphoric sub-depression, melancholic sub-depression and dissociated sub-depression. The phenomenology of these disorders is described. The present a series of disorders with an increasingly complicated structure, which make up the internal picture of alcoholic addiction and, to a certain degree, determine it.

[Clinical pharmacokinetics of mebikar. Computation of individual dosage regimens]. / Klinicheskaia farmakokinetika mebikara. Raschet individual'nykh rezhimov dozirovaniia.

The authors review the principles of calculating the optimal dosage regimens of mebicar used in the treatment of borderline psychopathological abnormalities in alcoholics. Mebicar administered to patients according to the calculated dosage regimens ensures the positive clinical effect. This is supported by the clinicopsychopathological and electrophysiological data.

[Beta-endorphin and endogenous alcohol level of the blood in alcoholic patients]. / Uroven' beta-éndorfinov i éndogennogo étanola v krovi bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Radioimmunoassay was used to measure the blood content of beta-endorphines in patients with chronic alcoholism. The concentration of endogenous ethanol in these patients was determined by gas chromatography. The blood concentration of beta-endorphines was found to be high in patients who showed atypical affective disorders off the period of abstinence. It is assumed that peripheral beta-endorphine is not linked with the development of the narcomanic syndrome proper but mirrors the pathogenetic mechanisms of psychopathological disorders. The levels of endogenous ethanol vary in alcoholics and healthy subjects within the same ranges. However, the percentage distribution indicates that in patients, they are shifted toward lower concentrations, which is likely to be conditioned by the induction of enzymatic systems that metabolize ethanol.

[Clinical pharmacokinetics of mebikar]. / Klinicheskaia farmakokinetika mebikara.

Twenty-two patients admitted to the narcological clinic of an industrial enterprise were examined for the clinical effect and pharmacokinetic parameters after intake of a single dose of a Soviet psychotropic drug mebicar. The clinical status was assessed by means of psychometric mapping and concurrent recording of the EEG. The correlation of the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic data can be used for the choice of minimal effective concentrations applied in further calculations of individual dosage regimens.

[Varieties of alcoholic abstinence]. / Raznovidnosti alkogol'noi abstinentsii.

On the basis of the evidence obtained from a clinical-psychopathological study of 154 patients with chronic alcoholism, four types of the abstinence syndrome were specified, including 1) ordinary nonpsychotic astheno-vegetative dysthymia; 2) an astheno-melancholic reaction as exogenically resolved "soil depression"; 3) a depressive-vegetative cyclothymic reaction or phase; 4) a schizothymovegetative reaction or exacerbation of an uneventful schizophrenic shift.

[Concentration of endogenous ethanol and alcoholic motivation]. / Uroven' éndogennogo étanola i alkogol'naia motivatsiia.

Trials with patients suffering from stage II chronic alcoholism and normal test subjects as well as experiments made on male C57BL mice (with genetically determined alcoholic motivation) and CBA mice (with genetically determined alcoholic aversion) and random-bred male rats with different levels of initial alcoholic motivation have shown the presence of reverse proportional dependence between blood plasma endogenous ethanol and alcoholic motivation.

[Effect of tranquilizing agents on the blood level of endogenous ethanol in alcoholics]. / Vliianie trankvilizatorov na uroven' éndogennogo étanola v krovi bol'nykh alkogolizmom.

Experiments on alcohol addicts blood were made to study the time course of the endogenous ethanol level after a single administration of mebicar (1.5 g), a derivative of bicyclic bisuria, 50 ml of 5% sodium hydroxybutyric syrup, a derivative of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, and 20 mg diazepam, a derivative of 1,4-benzodiazepines. The clinical effect was recorded simultaneously. It was established that different tranquilizers stimulate the increase in the endogenous ethanol level as regards the spectrum of psychotropic activity. This effect was the most pronounced with mebicar and to a less measure with diazepam.