Psychiatric manifestations were studied in 72 amputees in the post-operative period. All were right handed. Besides phantom limb phenomena, which were observed in nearly four-fifths of the cases and are described in another paper, nearly two-thirds had psychiatric symptoms inthe form of depression (45 patients), anxiety (38), crying spells (38), insomnia (34), loss of appetite (23), suicidal ideas (21) and psychotic behaviour (2). Right arm amputees had phantom phenomena and insomnia significantly more often than left. Nearly one-fifth of the cases were diagnosed as having psychotic depressive reactions, two-fifths as having depressive neurosis and two, both with right upper limb amputations, as schizophrenic.

Type I (tyrosinase-deficient) oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) results from mutations of the gene encoding tyrosinase, the enzyme that catalyzes the first 2 steps of melanin pigment biosynthesis. In type IA (tyrosinase-negative) OCA tyrosinase enzymatic activity is completely absent, and in type IB ("yellow") OCA tyrosinase activity is greatly reduced. Here, we describe 11 novel mutations of the tyrosinase gene in Caucasian patients with these 2 forms of type I OCA. Type I OCA in Caucasians appears to result from a great variety of different uncommon alleles. More than 80% of the known missense substitutions associated with type I OCA cluster within 2 relatively small regions of the tyrosinase polypeptide, suggesting that these may correspond to functionally important sites within the enzyme.

Pyrrolnitrin at 10 Ag/ml inhibited the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Penicillium atrovenetwn, and P. oxalicwn. The primary site of action of pyrrolnitrin on S. cerevisiae was the terminal electron transport system between succinate or reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and coenzyme Q. At growth inhibitory concentrations, pyrrolnitrin inhibited endogenous and exogenous respiration immediately after its addition to the system. In mitochondrial preparations, the antibiotic inhibited succinate oxidase, NADH oxidase, succinate-cytochrome c reductase, NADH-cytochrome c reductase, and succinate-coenzyme Q6 reductase. In addition, pyrrolnitrin inhibited the antimycin-insensitive reduction of dichlorophenolindophenol and of the tetrazolium dye 2,2'-dip -nitrophenyl-(3,3'dimethoxy-4,4'-bi-phenylene)5,5'-diphenylditetrazolium. The reduction of another tetrazolium dye, 2-p-iodophenyl-3-p-nitrophenyl-5-phenyltetrazolium chloride, that was antimycin-sensitive, was also inhibited by pyrrolnitrin. The antibiotic had no effect on the activity of cytochrome oxidase, and it did not appear to bind with flavine adenine dinucleotide, the coenzyme of succinic dehydrogenase. In whole cells of S. cerevisiae, pyrrolnitrin inhibited the incorporation of "4C-glucose into nucleic acids and proteins. It also inhibited the incorporation of "4C-uracil, 'Hthymidine, and "C-amino acids into ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, and protein, respectively. The in vitro protein synthesis in Rhizoctonia solani and Escherichia coli was not affected by pyrrolnitrin. Pyrrolnitrin also inhibited the uptake of radioactive tracers, but there was no general damage to the cell membranes that would result in an increased leakage of cell metabolites. Apparently, pyrrolnitrin inhibits fungal growth by inhibiting the respiratory electron transport system.

No abstract

Phantom limb phenomena during the post-operative period were studied in 72 amputees. All were right handed. Phantom limb was present in 86.1 per cent of the cases, significantly more commonly amputation of the right arm. Nearly half of the phantoms developed within the first 24 hours and another quarter in the next 24 hours, appearing earlier in lower limb amputees. Movements in the phantom were felt by three-quarters of the cases, an incidence unaffected by site or side of amputation. Telescopy was present in nearly two-thirds and phantom limb pain in over two-thirds, significantly more commonly in the upper limb amputees but uninfluenced by the side of amputation. Thirty-one of the patients dreamed that their limbs were intact.