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.

Personality disorder and cardiovascular disease: Results from a national household survey

Abstract: Objective: Little is known about the physical health of personality-disordered people. This study investigated associations between personality disorder and cardiovascular disease in a large, nationally representative sample from Great Britain.Method: A random sample of 8580 adults aged 16 to 74 years, living in England, Wales, and Scotland in 2000 was screened for the presence of personality disorders using the screening questionnaire of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders. Self-reported stroke or ischemic heart disease was ascertained. Age, sex, social class (by occupation), self-reported hypertension or diabetes smoking history, and alcoholism were entered into regression models as potential confounding/mediating factors.Results: Participants screening positive for any personality disorder were more likely to report experiencing a stroke and ischemic heart disease (age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios [ORs] were 2.1 [95% CI, 1.2 to 3.8] and 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1 to 2.1], respectively). After adjusting for potential confounders, significant associations were found between any personality disorder and stroke (OR=1.9; 95% CI, 1.0 to 3.5) and any personality disorder and ischemic heart disease (OR=1.4; 95% CI, 1.0 to 1.9). After adjustment, avoidant (OR=4.0; 95% CI, 1.2 to 13.3), obsessive-compulsive (OR=2.9; 95% CI, 1.3 to 6.6), and borderline personality disorders (OR=8.5; 95% CI, 1.0 to 72.8) were significantly associated with stroke. Ischemic heart disease was significantly associated with avoidant (OR=2.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 4.5), paranoid (OR=2.1; 95% CI, 1.0 to 4.3), schizotypal (OR=3.6; 95% CI, 1.5 to 8.6), schizoid (OR=1.6; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.4), and borderline personality disorders (OR=7.2; 95% CI, 2.1 to 24.3).Conclusion: People at risk for personality order are also at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. This increased risk is not explained by differences in socioeconomic status or lifestyle. Dysfunctional personality traits may have a direct role in the etiology of cardiovascular disease.

Circulating levels of IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-1 throughout pregnancy: relation to birthweight and maternal weight.

Abstract: Serum levels of IGF-I and IGF-binding protein (IGFBP-1) have been determined in the maternal circulation between 11 and 42 weeks of gestation in women not in labour (n = 335) and in the maternal and fetal circulations at the time of delivery between 37 and 42 weeks (n = 55). Maternal serum (MS) IGF-I levels increased during pregnancy and showed a significant positive correlation with maternal weight (P = 0.0033) but no correlation with birthweight. The MS IGFBP-1 levels did not change during the second and third trimesters and showed a negative correlation with birthweight, maternal weight, placental weight and MS glucose (P = 0.0002, P < 0.0001, P = 0.047, P = 0.024 respectively). MS IGFBP-1 levels were higher in small-for-gestational age babies than in average-for-gestational weight babies (P = 0.026) and lower in the large-for-gestational weight group (P = 0.048). There was a significant rise in mean MS IGFBP-1 levels during labour (P = 0.0005). These findings suggest that IGFBP-1 may be an important factor in pathological growth retardation.

Biological Sciences: Human Brain Monoamine Oxidase: Multiple Forms and Selective Inhibitors

Abstract: IT is well recognized that monoamine oxidase (monoamine: O2 oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.4) (MAO) plays an important role in the degradation of biologically active monoamines in the brain1,2. There is much evidence pointing to changes in monoamine metabolism in mental illnesses characterized by alterations in mood3,4. Perhaps the most important property of MAO inhibiting drugs is their ability to bring about a lightening of affect in depressed patients5. That this effect results solely from the inhibition of MAO has not been widely questioned, although the antidepressive effect is not shared to an equal extent by all drugs in the group6. An attempt has been made to explain this finding in terms of differing ability of the MAO inhibitors to prevent amine re-uptake7; however, it has seemed to us that an explanation might better be sought in terms of differential inhibitory capacity of these drugs on the four molecular variants of MAO in the human brain8.