Anticipation in the families of patients with alcoholism and drug addiction (son-father dyads)
Moskalenko, V.D.; Shevtsov, A.V.
Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova 101(4): 19-22
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 1997-7298 PMID: 11490428 Document Number: 526274
The clinical pattern of psychoactive drug addiction (PDA) was investigated in 41 father-son dads. Seven clinical characteristics were taken into consideration: The age at the onset of systematic PDA abuse; the rate of addiction development; the severity of the withdrawal syndrome; rate of progression, the form of drug abuse; the duration and quality of remissions; somatoneurologic consequences; and the clinical picture as a whole. These characteristics was evaluated in the members of each dad in terms of more or less severity. There is a strong tendency for more severe clinical picture in sons as compared with their fathers. The findings support the hypothesis that there is anticipation in the representatives of two generations of the families with drug dependence.