Porphyrins and Gastrointestinal Laboratory at King's College Hospital

Laboratory overview: Porphyrins

The porphyria service is one of four Supraregional Assay Service (SAAS) designated sections within the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and one of only two SAAS porphyria laboratories in the UK.

Key features:

• Intermediates of haem biosynthesis are measured in biological specimens (urine, faeces and blood) using techniques such as ion-exchange chromatography, fluorimetry and HPLC.
• We are UKAS accredited, a member of the European Porphyria Initiative (EPI), and participate in WEQAS and RCPA-Australian EQA schemes.
• We operate in conjunction with an outpatients clinic for porphyria patients that receives referrals from many parts of the UK. A network of specialists with an interest in porphyria has been established, consisting of a gynaecologist, neurologist, dermatologist etc.
• We have strong research links with a major interest in clinical and diagnostic aspects of the porphyrias.

Laboratory overview: Gastro-Intestinal

The Gastro-Intestinal Laboratory provides novel and non-invasive tests for intestinal permeability using urinary profiles of different molecular weight sugars taken orally and excreted in the urine. A large workload is from faecal calprotectin testing for gut inflammation, to differentiate between inflammatory conditions from IBS and cancers.