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The article describes the rating scales used for the assessment of prognosis and outcome in the treatment of alcoholism. The prognostic scales, which can be regarded as ordinal scales, cover four major areas which include social adjustment, previous treatment of alcoholism and responses to such treatment, effects of alcoholism, and insight or the patient's awareness of the illness. Each scale under the four major areas is briefly discussed. The general principles underlying these scales, as well as their reproducibility are described.

The article presents a study which compares the outcome of short-stay and long-stay in-patient treatment of male alcoholics. The researchers conducted the study on 62 patients, followed-up two year after discharge. They also examined variables that influence on the outcome such as social class, social maladjustment and history of delirium treatments. Findings reveal no significant differences in the outcome of both short-stay and long-stay in-patient treatment. About 50% of the subjects in both methods had been abstinent and two-thirds had shown favorable improvement.

In a study designed to explain conflicting reports of hypermagnesaemia in schizophrenia, significantly higher concentrations of plasma-magnesium were found in phenothiazine-treated schizophrenic women than in normal women of the same age. This did not apply to men. Magnesium levels were inversely related to motor activity in untreated chronic schizophrenic men in hospital as well as in patients of both sexes receiving butyrophenone or phenothiazine derivatives. The magnesium concentration fell significantly when institutionalized schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic men were placed on neuroleptic medication. It is concluded that age, sex, pharmacotherapy, and level of activity all influence the metabolism of magnesium in schizophrenic subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]