Loxapine was introduced to the British market two years ago although it has been used in North America for eight years. We report the first probable case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) secondary to loxapine in Britain. Two previous cases have been reported in North America (manufacturer's data).

We present a case of tabes dorsalis, which consisted of intermittent, sharp pains and diffuse neurological abnormalities, and was initially considered to be a somatoform disorder. The unusual behavioural presentations of neurosyphilis may lead to premature psychiatric diagnoses. It is thus important that psychiatric consultants be aware of the myriad manifestations of the disease.

When sleep duration and mood were monitored longitudinally in a 59–year-old woman with bipolar illness, sleep loss appeared to mediate the triggering of mania by psychosocial and pharmacological precipitating factors. This interpretation was supported by observations that mania could repeatedly be induced experimentally by depriving her of sleep for one night. The patient's data illustrate how sleep-loss might be a preventable cause of mania in a variety of situations.

A manic-depressive patient hid £3000 during one manic phase and subsequently, when his mood stabilised, could not remember where he had hidden it. He found the money during a subsequent manic phase a few months later. We suggest that this is not a clear case of state-dependent memory, since the patient at no point explicitly recollected where he had hidden the money. Instead we suggest that this represents state-dependent action. The links between this case and previous research on state-dependent memory are outlined.