St Thomas' Hospital

About: St Thomas' Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Pregnancy. The organization has 12105 authors who have published 15596 publications receiving 624309 citations. The organization is also known as: St Thomas's Hospital & St. Thomas's.

The Euro-lupus project: epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe.

Abstract: The Euro-lupus project provides updated information on the epidemiologic characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at the change of the millennium and defines several clinical and immunological prognostic factors. The Euro-lupus cohort is composed of 1000 patients with SLE who have been followed prospectively since 1991. Among other findings, this project has shown that a) the age at onset of the disease, the gender and the autoantibody pattern, among other factors, modify the disease expression and define some specific SLE subsets; b) most of the SLE inflammatory manifestations are less common after long-term evolution of the disease, thus probably reflecting the effect of therapy as well as the progressive remission of the disease in many patients and c) a more prominent role of thrombotic events is becoming evident affecting both morbidity and mortality in SLE.

An artificial di-iron oxo-protein with phenol oxidase activity

Abstract: Here we report the de novo design and NMR structure of a four-helical bundle di-iron protein with phenol oxidase activity. The introduction of the cofactor-binding and phenol-binding sites required the incorporation of residues that were detrimental to the free energy of folding of the protein. Sufficient stability was, however, obtained by optimizing the sequence of a loop distant from the active site.

F-waves in clinical neurophysiology: a review, methodological issues and overall value in peripheral neuropathies

Abstract: This report comments on methodological issues related to the use of F-wave in clinical neurophysiology. An F-wave study aims to describe with relative accuracy the properties of the compound F-wave population which is the population of F-waves consecutively recorded from a muscle. This can only be achieved if an adequate number of F-waves is sampled. In order to avoid inaccuracies, correction of F-wave latency measurements for height or limb length and age is also required. Differences in the recording procedure could account for the variability in F-wave measurements. The usefulness of F-wave parameters other than latency is discussed. F-chronodispersion and F-tacheodispersion are more sensitive than conventional neurophysiological methods in detecting mild nerve lesions. F-persistence provides valuable information only if the findings are interpreted in correlation with the particular clinical setting. The suitability of the F-wave technique for routine studies is examined and a current view on the clinical applications is briefly recounted. There is an urgent need for the standardization of F-wave methodology.

Optical Coherence Tomography May Be Used to Predict Visual Acuity in Patients with Macular Edema

Abstract: Purpose. To determine whether the volume of retinal tissue passing between the inner and outer retina in macular edema could be used as an indicator of visual acuity. Methods. Diabetic and uveitic patients with cystoid macular edema (81 subjects, 129 eyes) were recruited. Best corrected logMAR visual acuity and spectral optical coherence tomography (OCT/SLO; OTI, Toronto, ONT, Canada) were performed in all patients. Coronal OCT scans obtained from a cross section of the retina between the plexiform layers were analyzed with a grid of five concentric radii (500, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 μm centered on the fovea). The images were analyzed to determine the amount of retinal tissue present within each ring. A linear regression model was developed to determine the relationship between tissue integrity and logMAR visual acuity. Results. A linear relationship between tissue integrity and VA was demonstrated. The volume of retinal tissue between the plexiform layers in rings 1 and 2 (up to 1000 μm from the foveal center) predicted 80% of visual acuity. By contrast, central macular thickness within the central 1000 μm predicted only 14% of visual acuity. Conclusions. This study showed that the cross-sectional area of retinal tissue between the plexiform layers in cystoid macular edema, as imaged by OCT, is the best indicator of visual function at baseline. Further prospective treatment trials are needed to investigate this parameter as a predictor of visual outcome after intervention.