Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Falko Skrabal for giving me the opportunity to work on this thesis and his encouragements during the course of this work. His affection for the human β₂ adrenoceptor was a steady impetus.

My deepest appreciation and thanks especially to Associate Professor Peter Kotanko for his invaluable time, help, advice and support. Many enlightening talks on the work in progress and the pros and cons of different techniques kept this study running successfully. His continuous support in all the years made this work what it is today.

Especially I am grateful to Professor Mark Caulfield for making the DNA samples of the St. Vincent study available to us, his neverending support and encouragements during both studies and his general help, which made my stays in London quite enjoyable.

I am grateful to Peter Sweetnam, MRC Epidemiology Unit, Penarth, for making DNA, blood samples, and demographic data of the Caerphilly Prospective Heart Study available to us.

I grateful acknowledge Professor Adrian Clark for providing me with the opportunity to complete this work in the Department of Chemical Endocrinology of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and for his tips on molecular biology.

I also dept grateful acknowledgments to Ged Gardner and Patricia Munroe, whose efforts were essential during the work on the Caerphilly study;

to Associate Professor Peter Kotanko for reviewing and proof-reading this thesis;

and to all the people of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology of the Medical School Queen Mary College, for their understanding and help.

This study was in part supported by the Austrian Fond zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, SFB 007 (Biomembranes).

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