Publications by authors named "Anna Morris"

Background: Young people and families endure protracted waits for specialist mental health support in the United Kingdom. Staff shortages and limited resources have led many organizations to develop digital platforms to improve access to support. myHealthE is a digital platform used by families referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in South London.

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  • The study investigates the direct alloresponse in transplant rejection, specifically how recipient T cells recognize allogeneic pMHC complexes.
  • It finds that the precursor frequency of alloreactive CD8 T cells against a single MHC allele is relatively low, ranging from 0.1% to 0.5%, but they show specific responses in terms of proliferation, activation, and cytotoxic abilities.
  • The research also developed a method using artificial antigen-presenting cells to understand T cell responses to kidney peptides, identifying two immunogenic peptides relevant for monitoring transplant rejection in patients.
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Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a cornerstone treatment for antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) post-organ transplantation, aiming to eliminate pathogenic donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSA). However, limitations in HLA antibody interpretation due to the prozone-like effect (PLE) can lead to inaccurate assessment of treatment efficacy. We present a case of a heart transplant recipient with suspected AMR, where an unexpected increase in DSA levels post-TPE prompted investigation into PLE.

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The clinical impact of HLA DP antibodies is poorly understood, resulting in variable clinical strategies for transplant candidates and recipients with donor-directed HLA-DP antibodies. Complicating matters further, the DPB naming convention is not based on allelic homology and requires sequence alignments to identify potential immunogenic epitopes. Historically, G and P codes, which consolidated alleles that were identical over Exon 2, were used to simplify the reporting of HLA Class II typing as differences outside of Exon 2 have not been considered immunogenic (i.

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Introduction: This paper describes an innovative Framework for Remotely Enabled Co-Design with Young people (FREDY), which details an adaptable four-stage process for generating design concepts with children and other key stakeholders in a naturalistic and inclusive way.

Methods: Recommendations from existing patient engagement and design methodologies were combined to provide research teams with procedures to capture and analyse end-user requirements rapidly. Resulting insights were applied through iterative design cycles to achieve accelerated and user-driven innovation.

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Aims: To undertake a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP), identifying the most important unanswered questions in type 1 diabetes in Ireland and the United Kingdom and to compare these to priorities identified in a 2011 PSP.

Methods: A steering committee (including eight individuals with lived experience/charity representatives and six clinicians) designed a survey which asked stakeholders to list three questions about type 1 diabetes. This was disseminated through social media, direct email contact, and printed posters.

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Objectives: To determine whether the information provided by short tandem repeat (STR) testing and bone marrow (BM) biopsy specimens following hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) provides redundant information, leading to test overutilization, without additional clinical benefit.

Methods: Cases with synchronous STR and flow cytometric immunophenotyping (FCI) testing, as part of the BM evaluation, were assessed for STR/FCI concordance.

Results: Of 1199 cases (410 patients), we found the overall concordance between STR and FCI was 93%, with most cases (1063) classified as STR-/FCI-.

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Obesity is associated with many significant physiological changes. These considerations are important to surgery, especially in urological procedures. Obese patients often undergo surgical procedures and are at higher risk of complications.

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Objective: This paper aims to report our experience of developing, implementing, and evaluating myHealthE (MHE), a digital innovation for Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which automates the remote collection and reporting of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) into National Health Services (NHS) electronic healthcare records.

Methods: We describe the logistical and governance issues encountered in developing the MHE interface with patient-identifiable information, and the steps taken to overcome these development barriers. We describe the application's architecture and hosting environment to enable its operability within the NHS, as well as the capabilities needed within the technical team to bridge the gap between academic development and NHS operational teams.

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Aims: To describe the process and outputs of a workshop convened to identify key priorities for future research in the area of diabetes and physical activity and provide recommendations to researchers and research funders on how best to address them.

Methods: A 1-day research workshop was conducted, bringing together researchers, people living with diabetes, healthcare professionals, and members of staff from Diabetes UK to identify and prioritise recommendations for future research into physical activity and diabetes.

Results: Workshop attendees prioritised four key themes for further research: (i) better understanding of the physiology of exercise in all groups of people: in particular, what patient metabolic characteristics influence or predict the physiological response to physical activity, and the potential role of physical activity in beta cell preservation; (ii) designing physical activity interventions for maximum impact; (iii) promoting sustained physical activity across the life course; (iv) designing physical activity studies for groups with multiple long-term conditions.

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Introduction: Actigraphy is commonly used to record free living physical activity in both typically and atypically developing children. While the accuracy and reliability of actigraphy have been explored extensively, research regarding young people's opinion towards these devices is scarce. This review aims to identify and synthesise evidence relating to the acceptability of actigraphic devices in 5-11 year olds.

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The Sensitization in Transplantation: Assessment of Risk workgroup is a collaborative effort of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics that aims at providing recommendations for clinical testing, highlights gaps in current knowledge, and proposes areas for further research to enhance histocompatibility testing in support of solid organ transplantation. This report provides updates on topics discussed by the previous Sensitization in Transplantation: Assessment of Risk working groups and introduces 2 areas of exploration: non-human leukocyte antigen antibodies and utilization of human leukocyte antigen antibody testing measurement to evaluate the efficacy of antibody-removal therapies.

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Although anti-HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) are commonly measured in clinical practice and their relationship with transplant outcome is well established, clinical recommendations for anti-HLA antibody assessment are sparse. Supported by a careful and critical review of the current literature performed by the Sensitization in Transplantation: Assessment of Risk 2022 working group, this consensus report provides clinical practice recommendations in kidney, heart, lung, and liver transplantation based on expert assessment of quality and strength of evidence. The recommendations address 3 major clinical problems in transplantation and include guidance regarding posttransplant DSA assessment and application to diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutics: (1) the clinical implications of positive posttransplant DSA detection according to DSA status (ie, preformed or de novo), (2) the relevance of posttransplant DSA assessment for precision diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection and for treatment management, and (3) the relevance of posttransplant DSA for allograft prognosis and risk stratification.

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Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis to assess chimerism is a critical aspect of routine care particularly in patients facing stem cell transplants but is also relevant in other clinical scenarios. STR analysis provides a means to assess donor and recipient cellular origins in a patient, and, as such, can inform engraftment, rejection, and relapse status in stem cell transplant recipients. In this review of STR testing, the most commonly used method to assess chimerism, its background, procedural details, and clinical utility are discussed.

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  • There is variability in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), with some individuals never responding to treatment and others becoming resistant after an initial response, suggesting different underlying causes.
  • The study aimed to identify sociodemographic and clinical factors related to the early onset of TRS using a retrospective analysis of a cohort from the South London and Maudsley.
  • Results indicated a median treatment time to TRS of about 3 years and 8 months, with more severe initial positive symptoms leading to earlier TRS onset, while long-acting injectable antipsychotics were linked to a later onset.
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  • The study aimed to create a predictive tool for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) using data from mental health services across four London boroughs, analyzing a large diverse group of patients.
  • Data from clinical records of 1,515 patients revealed that 17% developed TRS, with the Cox LASSO survival model producing a Harrel's C index of 0.60, indicating a moderate predictive ability.
  • Key predictors of TRS included more inpatient days, increased face-to-face clinical contact prior to treatment, minor cognitive issues, and younger age at the first antipsychotic prescription; however, routine data alone may not be enough for accurate prediction.
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Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality related to many complex physiologic changes and the rise worldwide has had far ranging implications in healthcare. According to the World Health Organization, over 2.8 million people die each year from being overweight or obese.

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Background: Interest in internet-based patient reported outcome measure (PROM) collection is increasing. The NHS myHealthE (MHE) web-based monitoring system was developed to address the limitations of paper-based PROM completion. MHE provides a simple and secure way for families accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services to report clinical information and track their child's progress.

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Background: Intravenous vitamin C administration in septic shock may have a sparing effect on vasopressor requirements, and vitamin C's enzyme cofactor functions provide a mechanistic rationale. Our study aimed to determine the effect of intravenous vitamin C administration on vasopressor requirements and other outcomes in patients with septic shock.

Methods: This was a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial in 40 patients with septic shock who were randomised (1:1) to receive intravenous vitamin C (at a dose of 25 mg/kg of body weight every 6 h) or placebo (intravenous 5% dextrose) for up to 96 h, or until death or discharge.

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Aims: To identify key research questions where answers could improve care for older people living with diabetes (PLWD), and provide detailed recommendations for researchers and research funders on how best to address them.

Methods: A series of online research workshops were conducted, bringing together a range of PLWD and an acknowledged group of academic and clinical experts in their diabetes care to identify areas for future research. Throughout the pre-workshop phase, during each workshop, and in manuscript preparation and editing, PLWD played an active and dynamic role in discussions as part of both an iterative and narrative process.

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Background: In the UK, children with high levels of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention referred to clinical services with possible attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often wait a long time for specialist diagnostic assessment. Parent training (PT) has the potential to support parents during this difficult period, especially regarding the management of challenging and disruptive behaviours that often accompany ADHD. However, traditional face-to-face PT is costly and difficult to organise in a timely way.

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E-cigarettes utilize a wide range of flavoring chemicals with respiratory health effects that are not well understood. In this study, we used pulmonary-associated cell lines to assess the in vitro cytotoxic effects of 30 flavoring chemicals. Human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and both naïve and activated macrophages (THP-1) were treated with 10, 100, and 1000 µM of flavoring chemicals and analyzed for changes in viability, cell membrane damage, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and inflammatory cytokine release.

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Background: The primary aim was to investigate outcome of the decision making on duration of injection intervals between injection visits over the first 2 years of a treat and extend regimen.

Method: Consecutive patients receiving Aflibercept for treatment naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration between 01.01.

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