Two contrasting alcoholism treatment programs: a comparison of outcomes

Participants in two 60-day alcoholism treatment programs with contrasting treatment philosophies and rationale were followed-up 1 year after discharge from the hospital. Widely different results were obtained with distinctly different alcoholic veteran populations. Response to treatment was highly favorable for less symptomatic alcoholics when direct emphasis was place upon the alcoholism per se and complete abstinence. Less favorable responses were achieved with overt neurotic alcoholics when treatment was designed to resolve underlying personality disturbances. Self-reports of marked depression, anxiety, and prior treatment for alcoholism were three pretreatment variables found significantly related to unsuccessful drinking outcome. The implication of these findings is that treatment outcome is largely dependent upon both the characteristics of the population treated and the treatment approach.

Control of serine transhydroxymethylase synthesis in Escherichia coli K12

Variations in serine transhydroxymethylase (STHM) activity as a function of the addition of certain nutrilites to the growth medium of cells of Escherichia coli K12 have been studied. STHM activity was decreased by growth in (a) glycine at high concentrations, and (b) a mixture of C1-derived metabolites (histidine, methionine, adenine, guanine, thymidine) at moderate concentrations. Two hypotheses are explored. The regulation of STHM synthesis can be explained in terms of variations in the intracellular concentration of glycine alone, or together with variations in the concentration of a C1 intermediate.

Specific effect of guanidine in the programming of poliovirus inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis

Inhibition of HeLa cell deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, which occurred by the 4th to 5th hr after infection with poliovirus, could be blocked completely by guanidine only when it was present before the 2nd hr. At the 2nd hr, there was no significant ribonucleic acid (RNA)-replicase activity, and addition of guanidine inhibited all production of virus but allowed 57% of maximal DNA inhibition to develop. Maximum DNA inhibition developed in cells infected for 4 hr in the presence of guanidine when the guanidine was removed for a 10-min interval. RNA-replicase activity was not enzymatically detectable and viral multiplication did not develop in these cells unless the interval without guanidine was extended to 60 min. The interpretation of the data was that the effect of guanidine on viral-induced inhibition of DNA synthesis was distinct and not a consequence of the inhibition of RNA-replicase.

Factor analysis of psychiatric symptoms: alcoholics compared with schizophrenics

Varimax factor analysis of 20 symptoms obtained at admission ratings of a consecutive sample of 201 chronic alcoholic patients in a Veterans Administration Hospital Treatment Program yielded 6 factors (eigenvalue ≥ 1): Depression-Anxiety, Uncooperative, Disorganized Thinking, Memory Deficit, Disoriented, and Unmotivated. Four of these same factors have been reported in a five-factor solution of these same 20 rating-scale variables on a large sample of Veterans Administration schizophrenic patients. The availability of follow-up data permitted additional factor analyses of these variables at 3 subsequent time points: hospital exit, at 1 mo. and at 12 mo. follow-up. In contrast to the schizophrenic sample which had also been analyzed at several time points, our factors did not all remain constant, pointing to a greater lability in symptoms in alcoholics before, during, and after treatment.