• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.17
• /
• pp.7357-7362
• /
• 2014

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a central proinflammatory cytokine, maintains immune homeostasis and also plays important roles in cervical cancer. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate any associations of IL-6 gene polymorphisms at positions -174 and -572 with predisposition to cervical cancer in a Chinese population. The present hospital-based case-control study comprised 518 patients with cervical cancer and 518 healthy controls. Polymorphisms of the IL-6 gene were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Patients with cervical cancer had a significantly higher frequency of the IL-6 -174 CC genotype [odds ratio (OR) =1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-2.19; p=0.02], IL-6 -572 CC genotype (OR =1.91, 95% CI = 1.16-3.13; p=0.01) and IL-6 -174 C allele (OR =1.21, 95% CI = 1.02-1.44; p=0.03) compared to healthy controls. When stratifying by the FIGO stage, patients with III-IV cervical cancer had a significantly higher frequency of IL-6 -174 CC genotype (OR =1.64, 95% CI =1.04-2.61; p=0.04). The CC genotypes of the IL-6 gene polymorphisms at positions -174 and -572 may confer a high risk of cervical cancer. Additional studies with detailed human papillomavirus (HPV) infection data are warranted to validate our findings.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.189-195
• /
• 2006

Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic, multisystemic disorder which is more frequently seen in the Mediterranean basin, Middle East, and Far East. The causes and pathogenesis of BD are unknown although many possibilities are being investigated. The diagnosis of BD is based on clinical manifestations because there are no pathognomonic laboratory tests. So, the purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of HLA-B51 in patients with BD. We used the whole blood of 33 patients diagnosed with BD at Chosun University Hospital from August 2003 to January 2006. For the HLA-B51 test, we extracted the DNA from the whole blood of 33 BD patients, and we investigated it through the nested PCR method. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/PC 10.0. The frequencies of gender of the 33 cases diagnosed as BD were male 13 (39.4%) and female 20 (60.6%). The frequencies of age group of the 33 cases diagnosed as BD were 20 yrs 8 (24.2%), 30 yrs 12 (36.4%), 40 yrs 8 (24.2%), 50 yrs 1 (3.0%), and 60 yrs and 70 yrs 2 (6.1%), respectively. The frequencies of HLA-B51 of the 33 cases diagnosed as BD were HLA-B51-negative 18 (54.5%) and HLA-B51-positive 15 (45.5%). In conclusion, BD occurred more often in women than men (1: 1.53), and the mean age of the BD patients was 39.8 years old. HLA-B51 was positive in 45.5% of patients with BD, and was statistically significant in age (p<0.05).

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.196-207
• /
• 2009

For the estimation of prevalence state of major chronic adult disease and their relationships with drinking and smoking habits in the Korean employees, we analyzed a medical check-up data of 155,799 subjects that was accumulated during the year of 2008. In age and sex distribution of the sample, male subjects were 106,229 and female 51,827 showing the ratio of 2:1 and the majorities were 30s and 40s covering 70.7% of the total. The prevalence rates of major chronic diseases were obesity 29.8% (male 38.3%, female 12.3%), hypertension 4.1%, HBV carrier inactive 3.3%, diabetes mellitus 2.9%, hypothyroidism 1.7% (male 1.3%, female 2.4%), hyperlipidemia 1.1%, hyperthyroidism 1.4% (male 1.1%, female 2.1%), osteoporosis 1.4% (male 1.4%, female 1.4%), anemia 0.9% (male 0.3%, female 2.0%) and renal disease 0.9%. The frequency of and volume of drinking in male group were 4.6 times and 7.5 times higher than female group respectively. The 33.8% of the workers were smoking currently. In the serological tests, all the items such as AST, ALT, ${\gamma}-GTP$, LDH for liver function, Cholesterol, TG, uric acid for hyperlipidemia and BP systolic, Fasting blood sugar, BMI for metabolic syndrome were significantly higher in the more drinking and more smoking groups than other groups (p<0.001). The higher prevalence rates in male group in the liver disease seems to be strongly related with the drinking and smoking habits in male employees. We suggest that employees should rather relying on leisure or hobbies than drinking and smoking for the stress relief.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.212-215
• /
• 2005

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy in clinical practice, with a 0.1% life time risk in the general population. Conventional neurophysiological studies have been useful in the diagnosis of this condition, as have a number of more specialized procedures. Therefore, we evaluated the diagnostic sensitivities of several parameters in nerve conduction technique for CTS patients. We analyzed 100 patients (159 hands) who were diagnosed with CTS clinically and electrophysiolosically. Median motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities (MCV and SCV) with wrist, palm, and finger stimulation were performed in traditional methods. Sensitivities of each test were calculated and compared to normal control data. The sensitivities of existing nerve conduction method were noted in terminal latency on median nerve, 2nd finger-wrist segment, 3rd finger-wrist segment, palm-wrist segment and distoproximal ratio, as 72.96%, 92.45%, 94.34%, 94.97%, and 97.48%, respectively. In the early course of CTS, sensory nerve conductions in the median nerve are more valuable than motor nerve conduction. Sensory nerve conductions are usually affected before motor nerve conductions in CTS. In this study, we detected that slowing of median SCV was the most frequent in the distoproximal ratio.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2021

Respiratory viruses (RVs) cause infections in hospital environments through direct contact with infected visitors. In infection control, it causes major problems of acquired infections in hospitals by respiratory viruses. The surveillance data derived from clinical laboratories are often used to properly allocate medical resources to hospitals and communities for treatment, consumables, and diagnostic product purchases in the institutions and public health sectors that provide health care. An early diagnosis is essential in infection with respiratory viruses, and methods that can be used in diagnostic methods using respiratory samples include virus culture, molecular diagnosis, and analysis. A microchip provides a new strategy for developing a more diverse and powerful technology called point-of-care testing. The importance of the respiratory system should be applied strictly to the infection control guidelines to ensure the occupational health and safety of health care workers. Evidence of clinical efficacy, including this study, is challenging the long-standing paradigm for infection propagation. Additional assistance will be needed for frequent tests to detect respiratory viruses in inpatients who have begun to show new respiratory symptoms indicating infections requiring efforts to control the infection.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.19-24
• /
• 2010

We analyzed and compared the concentration of total cholesterol (CHOL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) in serum and the serum protein electrophoresis fractions of thyroid disease patients. In comparison with the average of reference, our data showed that the average concentration of CHOL, LDL cholesterol and TG in hyperthyroidism patients were decreased significantly, but HDL cholesterol was increased significantly. In hypothyroidism patients, CHOL, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and TG were all increased significantly. In comparison of the concentration of lipids in each patient to reference range, 28.3% of hyperthyroidism patients showed abnormally low level of total cholesterol. In the patients with hypothyroidism, the percentage of patients showed abnormally high level of CHOL, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and TG were 37.7%, 10%, 68.8% and 49.1%, respectively. In our studies of serum protein electrophoresis, the average of ${\alpha}_2$-globulin and $\gamma$-globulin in hyperthyroidism patients were increased and $\beta$-globulin was decreased significantly. In hypothyroidism patients, the average of $\gamma$-globulin was increased and $\beta$-globulin was decreased significantly. In comparison of protein fractions of each patient to reference range, 38.3% and 50.0% of hyperthyroidism patients showed abnormally high levels of ${\alpha}_2$-globulin and $\gamma$-globulin, but 73.3% of patients showed abnormally low level of $\beta$-globulin. In hypothyroidism patients, 70.4% of patients were abnormally decreased in $\beta$-globulin and 63.9% of patients were abnormally increased in $\gamma$-globulin. These data suggest that the concentrations of CHOL, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and TG are not critical data for clinical interpretation of hyperthyroidism, but the levels of them are useful for interpretation of hypothyroidism patients. Our results of serum protein electrophoresis suggest that the concentration of serum protein electrophoresis fractions can be useful to understand the thyroid disease.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.202-213
• /
• 2020

Although technological advances have allowed the efficient collection of large amounts of microbiome data for microbiological studies, proper analysis tools for such big data are still lacking. Additionally, analyses of microbial communities using poor databases can lead to misleading results. Hence, this study aimed to design an appropriate method for the analysis of big microbial databases. Bacteria were collected from the fingertips and personal belongings (mobile phones and laptop keyboards) of individuals. The genomic DNA was extracted from these bacteria and subjected to next-generation sequencing by targeting the 16S rRNA gene. The accuracy of the bacterial matching percentage between the fingertips and personal belongings was verified using a formula and an environment-related and human-related database. To design appropriate analysis, the bacterial matching accuracy was calculated based on the following three categories: comparison between qualitative and quantitative analysis, comparisons within same-gender participants as well as all participants regardless of gender, and comparison between the use of a human-related bacterial database (hDB) and environment-related bacterial database (eDB). The results showed that qualitative analysis, comparisons within same-gender participants, and the use of hDB provided relatively accurate results. This study provides an analytical method to obtain accurate results when conducting studies involving big microbiological data using human-derived microorganisms.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.331-336
• /
• 2018

In this study, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of 40 clinically isolated Candida albicans in tertiary hospitals in Daejeon, Korea, confirmed the nucleotide sequence and phylogenetic relationships of the strains collected from different specimen sources. The general variations found in seven different housekeeping genes of C. albicans, collected from urine and sputum, peripheral blood, central line blood, and other specimens, were analyzed. The phylogenetic tree was divided into 18 sub-clusters (1), a central line blood (2), others (5), sputum (1), peripheral blood (6), sputum (1), and urine (1), and the isolates at the same site were confirmed to have genetic similarity. Consequently, genetic similarity and the potential relevance were found in the strains collected from the same specimen sources. MLST analysis of C. albicans suggests that persistent data accumulation of phylogenetic gene variations of C. albicans may help establish infectious disease studies and epidemiological surveillance systems.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.235-247
• /
• 2022

Background: Ginsenoside Rg3 is one of the main active ingredients in ginseng. Here, we aimed to confirm its protective effect on the heart function in transverse aortic coarctation (TAC)-induced heart failure mice and explore the potential molecular mechanisms involved. Methods: The effects of ginsenoside Rg3 on heart and mitochondrial function were investigated by treating TAC-induced heart failure in mice. The mechanism of ginsenoside Rg3 for improving heart and mitochondrial function in mice with heart failure was predicted through integrative analysis of the proteome and plasma metabolome. Glucose uptake and myocardial insulin sensitivity were evaluated using micro-positron emission tomography. The effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on myocardial insulin sensitivity was clarified by combining in vivo animal experiments and in vitro cell experiments. Results: Treatment of TAC-induced mouse models with ginsenoside Rg3 significantly improved heart function and protected mitochondrial structure and function. Fusion of metabolomics, proteomics, and targeted metabolomics data showed that Rg3 regulated the glycolysis process, and Rg3 not only regulated glucose uptake but also improve myocardial insulin resistance. The molecular mechanism of ginsenoside Rg3 regulation of glucose metabolism was determined by exploring the interaction pathways of AMPK, insulin resistance, and glucose metabolism. The effect of ginsenoside Rg3 on the promotion of glucose uptake in IR-H9c2 cells by AMPK activation was dependent on the insulin signaling pathway. Conclusions: Ginsenoside Rg3 modulates glucose metabolism and significantly ameliorates insulin resistance through activation of the AMPK pathway.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to analyse brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) wave change data during microvascular decompression (MVD). The nerve function of Cranial Nerve VIII is at risk during MVD. Intraoperative monitoring of BAEP can be a useful tool to decrease the danger of hearing loss. Between January and December 2009, 242 patients had MVD for hemifacial spasm (HFS) and trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Among intraoperative BAEP changes, amplitude of V-V' was the most frequently observed during cerebellar retraction and decompression step of the MVD procedure. 138 patients (57%) had no BAEP change while 104 patients (42.98%) had BAEP change. 69 patients (28.5%) had Type A-I, 16 patients (6.6%) had Type A-II, 5 patients (2.1%) had Type B, and 13 patients (5.37%) had Type C. MVD is a surgical procedure to relieve the symptoms (e.g. pain, muscle twitching) caused by compression of a nerve by an artery or vein. During BAEP intraoperative monitoring, the surgical step is important in interpreting the changes of wave V. Several potential mechanisms of injury may affect the cochlear nerve, and complete loss of BAEP is often associated with postoperative hearing loss. Intraoperative BAEP monitoring may provide an early warning of hearing disturbance after MVD.