Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) (Welsh: Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Gwent, in the south-east of Wales. Headquartered in Caerleon, the local health board (LHB) was launched in October 2009 through the merger of Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust and Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Newport, Torfaen, and Monmouthshire LHBs. It is named after Aneurin Bevan, a Member of Parliament who represented the area and who was the Minister of Health responsible for the foundation of the National Health Service. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is the operational name of Aneurin Bevan Local Health Board.The Board's total catchment area for health care services contains a population of about 600,000. Acute, intermediate, primary and community care and mental health services are all provided across a network of primary-care practices, community clinics, health centres, one learning disability hospital, a number of community hospitals, mental health facilities, one local general hospital and three district general hospitals – Royal Gwent, Nevill Hall and Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr. In 2010 Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan hospital replaced several small community hospitals in Blaenau Gwent.In April 2012 the Board was fined £70,000 for breaching patient confidentiality. It was the first NHS organisation to be fined under the Data Protection Act.The Grange University Hospital is due to open in Llanfrechfa in 2021 but 384 beds was opened in April 2020, a year in advance of schedule, in case they were needed for the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales, enabled by the extensive adoption of offsite fabrication. The hospital opened in full on 17 November 2020.The plan is to centralise some acute services currently located at the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall Hospitals.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:The genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility has been studied extensively in European (EUR) ancestry populations. The aim of our study was to determine the genetic architecture of MS susceptibility in people of South Asian (SAS) and African (AFR) genetic ancestral backgrounds. METHODS:We recruited and genotyped a cohort of ancestrally diverse people with MS (pwMS) from across the United Kingdom. Cases were combined with controls from the UK Biobank (UKB). After genetic ancestry inference, we performed within-ancestry case-control genetic association studies of MS susceptibility, exploring single nucleotide variants and imputed classical human leukocyte antigen alleles. RESULTS:We analyzed genetic data from 676 pwMS from our cohort (median age = 45.7 years, 71.7% female genetic sex), 2,426 pwMS from the UKB (median age = 55.0 years, 72.3% female), and 27,640 UKB controls (median age = 54.0 years, 52.5% female). Genetic variants within the Major Histocompatibility Complex were associated with MS susceptibility across all ancestries (SAS: lead SNP chr6:32635095:G:C, odds ratio [OR] = 1.7, p = 4.2 × 10-8, nearest gene HLA-DQA1; AFR: lead SNP chr6:32593550:T:C, OR = 1.7, p = 1.2 × 10-5, nearest gene HLA-DRB1). EUR ancestry susceptibility alleles were over-represented in cases from both ancestries, with the degree of concordance stronger for the SAS (ρ = 0.46, p = 8.3 × 10-9) than the AFR (ρ = 0.35, Spearman p = 2.5 × 10-5) ancestry cohort. EUR-derived genetic risk scores performed better than chance but less well than in EUR ancestry cohorts, explaining 3.9% (SAS, p = 1.0 × 10-4) and 1.9% (AFR, p = 2.0 × 10-4) of the liability to MS, contrasting with 9.6% (empirical p = 1.0 × 10-4) in the EUR cohort. Several classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles associated with MS in EUR ancestry populations show similar effects in SAS and AFR ancestry cohorts, including HLA-DRB1*15:01; however, the population-level risk explained by this allele is lower in SAS (8.8%) and AFR (2.9%) cohorts than in EUR cohorts due to allele frequency. We found some evidence for a protective role for the SAS-enriched HLA-A*33:03 allele in the SAS cohort, which has not been previously described. DISCUSSION:The genetic architecture of MS susceptibility shows strong concordance across ancestral groups suggesting shared disease mechanisms. Larger studies in diverse populations are likely to enhance our understanding of how genetic variation contributes to MS susceptibility in people of all ancestral backgrounds.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with large prostate volume presents substantial surgical challenges for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), encompassing heightened intraoperative haemorrhage risk, prolonged operative duration, and increased perioperative morbidity. Prostatic artery embolization (PAE) has been investigated as a minimally invasive adjunct to reduce prostatic vascularity prior to TURP, potentially optimising perioperative outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the comparative efficacy and safety of PAE combined with TURP (PAE+TURP) versus TURP alone in patients with large-volume BPH. PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched from inception through January 2026. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing PAE+TURP with TURP alone in large-volume BPH were eligible. The primary outcome was the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). Secondary outcomes comprised operative time, maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), and quality of life (QoL). Pooled mean differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were derived using random-effects models. Three studies (one RCT and two cohort studies) totalling 261 patients (88 PAE+TURP, 173 TURP alone) were included. PAE+TURP yielded significantly greater IPSS improvement than TURP alone (MD=-2.07; 95% CI: -3.15 to -0.99; p<0.001; I²=0%). Subgroup analyses stratified by follow-up duration demonstrated no significant between-group difference in studies reporting three-month outcomes, whereas studies reporting six-month outcomes favoured PAE+TURP. Operative time was significantly shorter with PAE+TURP (MD=-38.7 minutes; 95% CI: -66.1 to -11.3; p=0.01), albeit with substantial heterogeneity (I²=97.8%). Qmax and QoL did not differ significantly between groups (both p=0.08). The single RCT was rated low risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) tool; both retrospective cohort studies received a good-quality rating on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, though residual confounding inherent to observational designs cannot be excluded. Preoperative PAE followed by TURP was associated with shorter operative time and superior lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) control compared with TURP alone in large-volume BPH. The limited evidence base and methodological heterogeneity across current studies underscore the need for large-scale randomised trials to establish long-term benefits and standardise patient selection criteria.
RATIONALE:Follow-up of pre-licensure trial participants potentially informs a vaccine's long-term safety profile. DESIGN:This prospective study enrolled participants from the first clinical trials of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, many of whom subsequently received COVID-19 vaccines in the UK vaccination programme. Serious adverse events (SAEs) and adverse events of special interest (AESIs) were captured. AESI selection was based on Brighton Collaboration definitions. RESULTS:Between September 2021 and April 2022, 4470 participants enrolled (58% female, median age 50 years); 3845/4470 (86.0%) completed the study. Median follow-up was 11.77 months; total follow-up was 48,116 person-months. There were 174 SAEs and 71 AESIs (33 events recorded as both) in 195 participants, including 5 deaths. Immunology data were available for a small subset of participants; total IgG against trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike protein tended to increase during the study. CONCLUSIONS:Although no emergent safety signals were detected, continued post-marketing surveillance remains imperative, particularly for neurological disorders. EUDRACT NUMBER:2021-003382-36.
Abstract Rubber additives may cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) due to widespread presence in consumer and industrial products. The aims of this study were (i) to audit the prevalence of sensitization to rubber additives in the British Society for Cutaneous Allergy (BSCA) baseline series and (ii) to assess sensitization rates to other rubber additives. A retrospective multicentre audit was carried out to analyse patch test results from 3367 consecutive patients in 14 UK or Irish centres from 1 December 2024 to 1 December 2025. The baseline series contains thiuram mix (TM), N-isopropyl-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (IPPD), mercapto mix (MM), mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) and carba mix (CM). In total, 612 patients with clinical suspicion of allergy to rubber additives underwent extended rubber series testing. Overall, 156 of 3367 (4.6%) patients tested in the baseline series had at least one positive reaction. Their mean age was 42 years (range 12–81), 57.7% were female and 69.2% had atopy. The hands (n = 95, 60.9%) and face (n = 82, 52.6%) were the most commonly affected sites, with multisite involvement in 83 (53.2%). Exposures included gloves, cosmetic applicators, footwear and sports equipment. CM was the most frequently positive hapten (2.6%), followed by TM (1.9%), MBT (0.4%), IPPD (0.4%) and MM (0.3%). Current relevance was identified in 64% of CM and 77% of TM reactions, with occupational exposure in 58 (78%). In the extended rubber series, 69 of 612 tests were positive for at least one rubber additive. The most frequent allergens were tetraethylthiuram disulfide (TETD; n = 25) and tetramethylthiuram monosulfide (TMTM; n = 20). Two of 25 (8%) and 1 of 20 (5%) patients positive to TETD and TMTM, respectively, were negative to TM. Five of 18 (28%) patients who tested positive to 1,3-diphenylguanidine tested negative to CM. Two-thirds of the most frequently positive allergens not represented by baseline series mixes are also not in the current BSCA rubber series: n-(cyclohexylthio)phthalimide (n = 5) is in the rubber series, but 4,4′-dithiodimorpholine (n = 4) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (n = 3) are not. TM and CM remain valuable screening tools. Sensitization to rubber additives not represented in the BSCA baseline series suggests rubber additive allergy may be underdetected. These findings suggest evolving trends in rubber additive use. The BSCA will be updating the current recommended rubber additive series.
