[Appropriate procedure with suspected intoxicated drivers--a discussion of recent theories on diagnosis and rehabilitation].

Within the last couple of years a dramatic change of judging the drinking driver has taken place having serious consequences for the individuals involved. Many DWI offenders are forced to abstain from any alcoholic beverage though characteristics of personality as well as of offence indicate that rehabilitation by participation in an intervention program may result in the same reduction of relapse probability as for a comparable group of drivers in the years before. The changed reflection is mainly caused by a superficial overestimation of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) figures found at the time of event.

On the daily rhythm of depression symptomatology.

Unlabelled: Diurnal variation of the symptomatology of endogenous depression (melancholy) was examined by means of 4 scales on 5 consecutive days in 24 untreated patients and in 63 patients under antidepressant drugs and after sleep deprivation.

Results: the group means exhibit a sinus-type daily curve with morning low (but not significant). This so-called typical diurnal variation is more often found than other definable diurnal variations.

Circadian rhythm of free urinary cortisol, temperature and heart rate in endogenous depressives and under antidepressant therapy.

Unlabelled: Free cortisol in urine, temperature and heart rate were examined in 81 endogenous depressives and 15 healthy controls in five successive 24-hour rhythms. The nocturnal mean value, amplitude, phase position of the minima and period length were calculated.

Main Results: cortisol secretion is to be found in larger quantities in depressives than in healthy controls.

Periodic sleep deprivation in drug-refractory depression.

For some time it has been known that total and partial sleep deprivation (in the second half of the night) produces an immediate antidepressive effect and a short-term effect of approximately 1-week duration. A 25-day trial is discussed here. 18 endogenous depressives who proved to be refractory to tricyclic antidepressive therapy were treated with periodic sleep deprivation (5 sleep deprivation treatments in the second half of the night at 5-day intervals) under continued drug therapy.

[Antidepressive effect of partial sleep deprivation during the 1st half of the night].

In addition to previous investigations another modification of sleep-deprivation (SD) was studied in 28 endogenous depressives: SD during the 1st half of the night. From the day of deprivation - in the self-rating from the 4th day - up to 1 week later a therapeutic effect can be observed. The psychic part of the symptomatology was more reduced than the somatic one.