Electrophoretic pattern of red blood cell catechol-o-methyltransferase in schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness

Human red blood cell (RBC) catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) was analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). One major enzyme band (B) is observed after electrophoresis. In addition, a minor band (A) of COMT activity comprising no more than 25% of the total activity, is also detectable. The rate of migration during electrophoresis of both bands of RBC COMT was the same in manic depressive, schizophrenic, and normal individuals. These results did not reveal genetic variations in the COMT molecule among these three groups. Furthermore, when total RBC COMT was measured there were no statistically significant differences between schizophrenic, manic-depressive, and control individuals.     

The changing pattern of imported malaria in British visitors to Kenya 1987-1990

Following a sudden increase of imported malaria from Kenya in December 1989-January 1990, an investigation was set up to identify risk factors for travellers' malaria. A questionnaire asking for details of travel patterns and compliance with prophylaxis was sent to cases reported over the 6-month Kenyan winter period. Quarterly malaria attack rates between January 1987 and June 1991 were calculated and linked to meteorological conditions in Mombasa. The number of travellers to Kenya has doubled in the 4 years studied and the quarterly rates varied 4-fold over this period. There was no clear seasonal pattern of malaria in travellers, nor was there any clear relation of malaria to coastal rainfall. Compliance with chemoprophylaxis was poor, with only 16% of cases using currently advised regimens. While the annual malaria attack rate per 10,000 travellers decreased by 37% over the study period, the total numbers of malaria cases imported from Kenya rose by 61%, reflecting the increase in the numbers of travellers to the region. As the popularity of East Africa as a tourist destination continues to increase, Kenya will remain an important and significant source of malaria imported into the UK.     

Anger and depressed affect: interindividual and intraindividual perspectives

The relation between anger and depressed affect was examined with both interindividual and intraindividual analyses. Seventy-seven undergraduate students completed the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961) and kept a psychological diary for 10 consecutive days. The diary included questions dealing with felt anger and expressed anger, and several measures of depressed affect. Only one of four correlational analyses between the number of days on which students reported feeling angry and aggregate measures of depression was significant. However, intraindividual analyses revealed that days on which students reported feeling angry were also days on which they reported higher levels of depressed affect. The tendency to attribute the cause of angry feelings to one's own actions was positively related to depressed affect. The tendency to inhibit expression of anger was positively related to the measure of depression.