The authors tried to evaluate some clinical pictures of the 52 cases of Propon addiction. Propon is a sedative and hypnotic drug which is a mixture of ethylhexabital calcium (100 mg) and meprobamate (200 mg). There is an increasing tendency of addicted person by this potent habit-forming drug in Korea.
The materials of this study were collected from the drug addiction cases who had admitted to Seoul Municipal Mental Hospital during last one year, 1969. The cases of propon addiction studied are 32 percent of all drug addictions who admitted to Hospital.
Among total propon addiction, delirium state was found in 63, 46 percent, generalized epileptic convulsion in 46, 15 percent. And slurred speech, insomnia, head-ache, anorexia, tremor or muscle twitching were frequent abstinence symptoms. After abrupt with-drawing of propon, the generalized epileptic´ convulsion was found in 68. 58 percent of all cases had taken over 6 tablets for a day, in 72.41 percent of all cases had taken over 10 tablets, in 85.71^85.00 percent of all cases had taken over 12 or 15 tablets, and in 100 per cent of all cases had taken over 20 tablets.
The abstinence syndrome was severe and sometimes grave. And the personality deterioration and inability to maintain normal life in the cases of propon addiction were more severe than those of the narcotic addiction.
The authors discussed about the ecological characteristics of the addicts and the sociomedical control of the non-narcotic habit-forming drugs.
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