St Bartholomew's Hospital

About: St Bartholomew's Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 11054 authors who have published 13229 publications receiving 501102 citations. The organization is also known as: St. Bartholomew's Hospital & The Royal Hospital of St Bartholomew.

Psychological sequelae following the Gulf War. Factors associated with subsequent morbidity and the effectiveness of psychological debriefing.

Abstract: Background The aim was to study the effect of brief counselling and psychological debriefing following a trauma on subsequent morbidity. Method We investigated psychological morbidity in 62 British soldiers whose duties included the handling and identification of dead bodies of allied and enemy soldiers during the Gulf War. Of these soldiers, 69% received a psychological debriefing on completion of their duties. The subjects completed by post a demographic questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Impact of Events Scale. Results After nine months 50% had evidence of some psychological disturbance suggestive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 18% had sought professional help; 26% reported relationship difficulties. Neither prior training nor the psychological intervention appeared to make any difference to subsequent psychiatric morbidity. Morbidity at nine months was more likely in those with a history of psychological problems and those who believed their lives had been in danger in the Gulf. Conclusions These findings show that a psychological debriefing following a series of traumatic events or experiences does not appear to reduce subsequent psychiatric morbidity and highlights the need for further research in military and civilian settings.

Impaired Resistance and Enhanced Pathology During Infection with a Noninvasive, Attaching-Effacing Enteric Bacterial Pathogen, Citrobacter rodentium, in Mice Lacking IL-12 or IFN-γ

Abstract: Mice infected with Citrobacter rodentium represent an excellent model in which to examine immune defenses against an attaching-effacing enteric bacterial pathogen. Colonic tissue from mice infected with C. rodentium harbors increased transcripts for IL-12 and IFN-γ and displays mucosal pathology compared with uninfected controls. In this study, the role of IL-12 and IFN-γ in host defense and mucosal injury during C. rodentium infection was examined using gene knockout mice. IL-12p40 −/− and IFN-γ −/− mice were significantly more susceptible to mucosal and gut-derived systemic C. rodentium infection. In particular, a proportion of IL-12p40 −/− mice died during infection. Analysis of the gut mucosa of IL-12p40 −/− mice revealed an influx of CD4 + T cells and a local IFN-γ response. Infected IL-12p40 −/− and IFN-γ −/− mice also mounted anti- Citrobacter serum and gut-associated IgA responses and strongly expressed inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in mucosal tissue, despite diminished serum nitrite/nitrate levels. However, iNOS does not detectably contribute to host defense against C. rodentium , as iNOS −/− mice were not more susceptible to infection. However, C57BL/6 mice infected with C. rodentium up-regulated expression of the mouse β-defensin (mBD)-1 and mBD-3 in colonic tissue. In contrast, expression of mBD-3, but not mBD-1, was significantly attenuated during infection of IL-12- and IFN-γ-deficient mice, suggesting mBD-3 may contribute to host defense. These studies are among the first to examine mechanisms of host resistance to an attaching-effacing pathogen and show an important role for IL-12 and IFN-γ in limiting bacterial infection of the colonic epithelium.