Amy Edwards

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Cortical involvement in postural control is well recognised, however the role of non-visual afferents remains unclear. Parietal cortical areas are strongly implicated in vestibulo-spatial functions, but topographical localisation during balance tasks remains limited. Here, we use electroencephalography (EEG) during continuous balance tasks of incre...

Walking onto a stationary platform that had been previously experienced as moving generates a locomotor after-effect-the so-called 'broken escalator' phenomenon. The motor responses that occur during locomotor after-effects have been mapped theoretically using a hierarchal Bayesian model of brain function that takes into account current sensory inf...

Objective To examine the hypothesis that small vessel disease disrupts postural networks in older adults with unexplained dizziness in the elderly (UDE). Methods Simultaneous electroencephalography and postural sway measurements were undertaken in upright, eyes closed standing, and sitting postures (as baseline) in 19 younger adults, 33 older cont...

CD4+ T cells are essential for protection from viral pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2. However, an increase in the dysfunction CD4+ EMRA subset is likely to hinder the immune response towards viruses. We show here that CD4+ EMRAs are increased with elevated blood glucose, such as people living with T2D, which alters mitochondrial function and causes t...

Central nervous system (CNS) paradoxical reaction after initial response to anti-tuberculous (anti-TB) treatment causes significant morbidity and mortality. Data pertaining to immunocompetent patients are scarce, however one case series estimated 13% mortality. This mini case-series describes two cases of HIV-negative patients with corticosteroid-r...

Background: It is not clear whether pre-existing macrovascular complications (ischemic heart disease, stroke or peripheral artery disease) are associated with health outcomes in people with diabetes mellitus hospitalized for COVID-19. Methods: We conducted cohort studies of adults with pre-existing diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19 infection in...

OBJECTIVE To determine the association between prescription of SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) incidence or mortality in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) hospitalized with COVID-19. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study based on secondary analysis of data from a large nationwide audit from a...

Aim: The prognostic role of microvascular complications for all-cause death in patients with diabetes hospitalized for coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has been suggested. However, no detailed analysis of the microvascular burden in these patients is available so far. Materials and methods: We analysed data from the French CORONADO initiative...

The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented new challenges to diabetes and endocrinology (D&E) training. We reflect from our local experience on its impact and lessons we can learn. Necessary restructuring of clinical services resulted in more general medicine and less inpatient specialty exposure. Outpatient clinic opportunities were reduced as cli...

Background & aims To assess the impact of pre-admission renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor (RAASi) and statin use on mortality following COVID-19 hospitalization in adults with pre-existing diabetes. Methods Retrospective cohort study of adults with diabetes admitted to ninety-nine participating hospitals in the United Kingdom, France...

A 27-year-old man of South Asian ethnicity presented with abdominal pain, nausea and constipation. Eight months earlier he had undergone myeloablative, haplo-identical, allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Immunosuppression had been stopped 4 months before presentation; he had continued prophylactic aciclovi...

A number of guidelines exist with recommendations for diagnosis and management of mitral stenosis (MS). We systematically reviewed existing guidelines for diagnosis and management of MS, highlighting their similarities and differences, in order to guide clinical decision-making. We searched national and international guidelines in MEDLINE and EMBAS...

Aims/hypothesis The aim of this work was to describe the clinical characteristics of adults with type 1 diabetes admitted to hospital and the risk factors associated with severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in the UK. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using data collected through a nationwide audit of people admitted to hos...

Vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are the most important component of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although most adverse reactions observed have been mild, the emergence of more serious vaccine-associated adverse events is being closely monitored.

Diabetes is an established risk factor for poor outcome in COVID-19. Newham was among the worst affected areas during the first UK peak and has an extremely high diabetes prevalence. We examined admissions for hyperglycaemic emergencies to Newham University Hospital during the initial COVID-19 peak, comparing with 2019 admissions. 39 adults were...

Case History A 23-year-old Bengali woman with a 2-year history of Graves’ disease presented to the endocrine day unit with a widespread pruritic vasculitic-looking rash. She was treated with Carbimazole since diagnosis but was poorly compliant. One month prior to presentation, her Carbimazole dose was increased from 20 mg daily to 60 mg daily, as...

Varicella zoster reactivation is a known risk following stem-cell transplantation, but has become more infrequent since universal antiviral prophylaxis. We report an unusual case of late, disseminated reactivation in a 27-year-old man with positive pre-transplant serology, and discuss implications for post-transplant prophylaxis and immune monitori...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The 'broken escalator phenomenon', or locomotor aftereffect (LAE), describes the instability perceived by the majority of subjects when stepping onto a stationary escalator, and represents an inappropriate expression of a learnt motor programs used for stepping onto a moving escalator. Patients with Functional Gait Disorders (FG...

Local anaesthetic (LA) agents are widely used in maternity care. Although relatively safe, their use does carry risks, the most serious of which is systemic toxicity (LAST). LAST poses a major threat to maternal and neonatal safety due to the frequency of LA administration in maternity care and the under-recognition of toxicity in such settings, wh...

Background: Although widely used in maternity care, the risks associated with local anaesthetic (LA) agents are commonly overlooked. The most serious avoidable risk associated with LA use is local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST). Incidence in maternity settings is known to be underestimated due to under-recognition and under-reporting. LAST is...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neuron (MN) disease and usually causes death through respiratory muscle failure within 2–5 years of symptom onset, following progressive loss of function and considerable disability. Riluzole is currently the only disease-modifying therapeutic agent, and following recent advances in stem...

Introduction Seizures represent 3% of all emergency department attendances. Methods A list of all possible seizure mimics was generated from ED computerized triage systems from 1/1/12 to 31/12/13. Data was extracted manually from review of ED notes and analyzed. Results 905 seizure attendances by 636 patients were examined over 2 years. 340 men and...