[The severity of neurotic disorders and social masochism in chemical addicts]. / Vyrazhennost' nevroticheskikh rasstroistv i sotsial'nogo mazokhizma u bol'nykh s khimicheskoi addiktsiei.

OBJECTIVE: To study symptoms of neurotic disorders and social masochism in chemical addicts. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty outpatients of the Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Addiction Dispensary were studied. Corresponding scales and questionnaires, along with a social masochism questionnaire developed by the authors, were used. Results were compared to those of 25 healthy people. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A significantly higher level (p≤0.05) of the following neurotic disorders: sleep disturbances, hysterical neurotic disorder, anxious neurotic disorder, social maladaptation and depressive neurotic disorder as well as a subclinical level of anxiety and depression were observed in chemical addicts. Moreover, patients with chemical dependence revealed significantly higher (p≤0.05) indicators of aggression, victim behavior and social masochism (different types of aggression, victimization, irritability, negativism, resentment, guilt, self-harming behavior, hypersocial behavior, provoking and uncritical behavior, the role of the victim, negative perception and a general indicator of social masochism). The correlations between indicators of the affective sphere, manifestations of social masochism and neurotic disorders in individuals with chemical dependence were identified.

Influence of opiate addiction on liver cell damage of patients with viral hepatitis C.

Liver functional tests, cholestasis development and serum acute phase proteins, including a-1-proteinase inhibitor (PI) and albumin level (negative reactant of acute phase proteins), C-reactive protein (CRP) have been studied in the patients with viral hepatitis C (HCV) and/or drug addictive disorders (crude home-made opiates). Narcotic drugs were shown to be responsible for aggravation of cholestasis development in HCV patients with opiate addiction. Decreased albumin concentration in serum was registered in all groups with drug addictive disorders, as a result of modified acute phase reaction.

The quality world change as a cause of addiction development in conditions of the north.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to study the quality world (QW), according to Glasser, in newcomers to the North. METHOD: The study included clinical examination of newcomers to the North according to DSM-IV criteria. The QW was studies defined as important figures of significant others (parents, family members, persons loved, friends, acquaintances etc.) with various functions, such as control, revision, support and others. RESULTS: It was found in the newcomers of North that they were unable to structure time in the way typical of their previous life, and that the absence of outside control from the significant others was expressed. The clinical evaluation revealed a strong sense of discomfort, anxiety, and depression. It was typical of the newcomers that they often tried to escape these feelings by alcohol intake, The newcomers used alcohol as a remedy to stimulate the imagination and to overcome the barriers in interpersonal relationships in the new environmental conditions. Alcohol also helped to re-establish the former patterns of self-object relationships and to re-experience the feelings of the comfortable QW pattern. The obtained data revealed that social isolation and hypostimulation led to a faster development of psychological alcohol dependence.