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.

Classification of anti-FcϵRI and anti-IgE autoantibodies in chronic idiopathic urticaria and correlation with disease severity

Abstract: Background : Circulating autoantibodies against FcϵRI, IgE, or both occur in approximately one third of patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), but not all autoantibodies initiate histamine release. Objective : We sought to classify patients with CIU into subsets on the basis of serum bioactivity and immunoreactivity and to examine the relationship between newly defined subtype and disease severity. Methods : Sera from patients with CIU (n = 78), dermog-raphism (n = 15), and cholinergic urticaria (n = 10) and sera from healthy subjects (n = 39) were analyzed by means of Western blot analysis for anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies and for histamine release from basophils and dermal mast cells. In vivo reactivity of autologous serum was tested by means of intradermal injection, and CIU severity was determined on the basis of clinical interview. Results : We classified sera from patients with CIU into 5 subsets: immunoreactive histamine-releasing anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies (n = 20 [26%]); immunoreactive anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies without histamine-releasing activity (n = 12 [15%]); anti-IgE-like autoantibodies (n = 7 [9%]); serum containing a mast cell-specific histamine-releasing factor (n = 7 [9%]); and sera with no identifiable factor (n = 32 [41%]). Patients with serum histamine-releasing activity had more severe urticaria than patients without such activity. Positive skin test responses to autologous sera were associated with histamine-releasing anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies but not with non-histamine-releasing anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies. Neither healthy subjects nor patients with dermographism or cholinergic urticaria had his-tamine-releasing anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies. Conclusion : These data support the specificity of functional anti-FcϵRI autoantibodies to CIU. The identification of distinctive subsets of patients suggests that other pathogenic mechanisms occur in CIU in addition to direct ligation of FcϵRI by autoantibodies causing dermal mast cell degranulation. Elucidating these mechanisms might lead to new treatments for CIU. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;110:492-9.)

Au(I) /Au(III) catalysis: an alternative approach for C-C oxidative coupling.

Abstract: When reacted in the presence of external oxidants, gold complexes are capable of catalyzing oxidative homo- and cross-coupling reactions involving the formation of new C-C bonds. Over the last few years, several cascade processes have been reported in which coupling is preceded by a gold-mediated aryl C-H functionalization or nucleophilic addition. These reactions combine the unique reactivity of gold with oxidative coupling, enabling the construction of C-C bonds between coupling partners that are not easily accessed using alternative catalysts. In this Concept paper, the development of gold-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions is discussed focusing on C-C bond-forming reactions of broad synthetic appeal.

Cohort Profile: TwinsUK and Healthy Ageing Twin Study

Abstract: The UK's largest registry of adult twins, or TwinsUK Registry, started in 1992 and encompasses about 12000 volunteer twins from all over the United Kingdom. More than 70% of the registered twins have filled at least one detailed health questionnaire and about half of them undergone a baseline comprehensive assessment and two follow-up clinical evaluations. The most recent follow-up visit, known as Healthy Ageing Twin Study (HATS), involved 3125 female twins aged >40 years with at least one previous clinical assessment to enable inspection of longitudinal changes in ageing traits and their genetic and environmental components. The study benefits from several state-of-the-art OMICs studies including genome-wide association, next-generation genome and transcriptome sequencing, and epigenetic and metabolomic profiles. This makes our cohort as one of the most deeply phenotyped and genotyped in the world. Several collaborative projects in the field of epidemiology of complex disorders are ongoing in our cohort and interested researchers are encouraged to get in contact for future collaborations.