A controlled study of lithium vs. chlorpromazine in acute schizophrenics

A previous double-blind controlled evaluation of lithium and chlorpromazine in both manic and schizo-affective individuals carried out in this unit (Johnsonet al., 1968) indicated that 85 per cent of the schizo-affectives showed a worsening of thought disorder when treated with lithium carbonate, the majority developing symptoms of an acute brain syndrome. The possibility of experimental design accounting for such treatment outcome must be considered.

Effects of substrate on heat inactivation of Taka-amylase A

Taka-amylase A is highly protected from heat inactivation and denaturation by the presence of its substrate, starch. The effect of pH on the protective action was studied to find the relation between the protective action and the state of ionization of taka-amylase A. The separation of protective effect of substrate from that of hydrolysis products was made by digesting starch with taka-amylase A before incubation to find the difference of protective abilities of substrate and hydrolysis products. The stabilization of the higher order structure of enzyme protein, depending on the state of ionization of enzyme protein, brought about by the formation of enzyme-substrate and -product complexes seems to be responsible for the appearance of the protective effect observed.