• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.196-200
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• 2006

Congenital toxoplasmosis is caused by vertical transmission of Toxoplasma gondii from mother during pregnancy. The broad clinical spectrum of congenital toxoplasmosis ranges from stillbirth or death shortly after birth to survival with either cerebral damage or mild or subclinical disease, consisting usually of ocular involvement. The authors experienced a case of congenital toxoplasmosis in prematurity baby whose mother had lived recently in Africa. The diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis was confirmed on the basis of clinical finding of chorioretinitis and positive serologic test for toxoplasma IgM antibody.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.526-531
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• 2007

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection caused by the obligate parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, that is distributed throughout the world. Infection is produced by contact with animal like dog, cat, pig, cow or horse. It is also possible to produce clinical disease in the form of oropharyngeal infection through consumption of raw or incompletely cooked meat. Handling of contaminated cat litter has been found to be the major route of transmission. There are two clinical manifestations of toxoplasmosis: the congenital and the acquired form. The congenital form is characterized by hydrocephalus, chorioretinitis, convulsion, and intracerebral calcifications in the newborn. The acquired form is further subdivided into the disseminated and the lymphadenopathic types, the latter being the more common form of the disease in men. This is a case report of a Korean 8 year 2 months female congenital toxoplasmosis child. Clinical feature, patient's medical history, radiographic evaluation and dental problems are discussed in this report.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.43 no.2 s.134
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• pp.69-71
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• 2005

This study was performed in order to evaluate the sero-epidemiological status of toxoplasmosis in pregnant Korean women. Among 5,175 sera and 750 amniotic fluid samples obtained from pregnant women, 41 serum samples $(0.79\%)\;and\;10 (1.33\%)$ amniotic fluid samples tested positive for IgG antibodies by ELISA. Fifty one cases showing a score more than 0.25 on ELISA were tested for PCR reaction against the SAG1 gene. Only one case of the 51 ELISA positive cases exhibited a positive reaction on all tests. This case had a history of acute nephropyelitis during early pregnancy, but fortunately, had delivered a phenotypically healthy baby. In this study, the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women was found to be comparatively low, consistent with previous reports from Korea. However our trials, performed with a variety of diagnostic tools, were considered to be useful for the precise diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.393-400
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• 2013

Ocular toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the infection with Toxoplasma gondii through congenital or acquired routes. Once the parasite reaches the retina, it proliferates within host cells followed by rupture of the host cells and invasion into neighboring cells to make primary lesions. Sometimes the restricted parasite by the host immunity in the first scar is activated to infect another lesion nearby the scar. Blurred vision is the main complaint of ocular toxoplasmic patients and can be diagnosed by detection of antibodies or parasite DNA. Ocular toxoplasmosis needs therapy with several combinations of drugs to eliminate the parasite and accompanying inflammation; if not treated it sometimes leads to loss of vision. We describe here clinical features and currently available chemotherapy of ocular toxoplasmosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 1999

A total of 542 children under 10 years of age, admitted to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital, was examined for antibody titers of Toxoplasma gondii using indirect latex agglutination (ILA) test. Among them, 7.7% showed positive titers higher than 1:32, without significant difference between males (7.3%) and females (8.5%). The seropositive rate increased with age although the statistical significance was negligible (0.05

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.493-499
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• 2014

The determination of the accurate immune status of pregnant women is crucial in order to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis. Equivocal results with conventional serological techniques are not uncommon when IgG titers are close to the cut-off value of the test, so that a confirmatory technique is needed. For this purpose, we developed a homemade immunoblot (IB) using soluble extract of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and assessed it by testing 154 positive, 100 negative, and 123 equivocal sera obtained from pregnant women. In order to select the more valuable bands in terms of sensitivity and specificity, we used the Youden Index (YI). The highest YIs were those given by the 32, 36, 98, 21, and 33 bands. The simultaneous presence on the same blot of at least 3 bands showed a much higher YI (0.964) and was adapted as the positivity criterion. The analysis of results showed that our homemade IB correlated well with the commercial LDBIO Toxo II $IgG^{(R)}$ kit recently recommended as a confirmatory test (96.7% of concordance).

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.415-420
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• 2014

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of foodborne, inflammatory illnesses, as well as congenital abnormalities. Currently available therapies are ineffective for persistent chronic disease and congenital toxoplasmosis or have severe side effects which may result in life-threatening complications. There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapies to eliminate or treat this cosmopolitan infectious disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro anti-Toxoplasma activities of Suaeda maritime, one of the halophytes, using tachyzoit of T. gondii RH strain infected HeLa cells. As the results, the selectivity of Suaeda maritime extract was 6.63, which was higher than Sulfadiazine selectivity (2.06). Also, we perfomed the cell proliferation inhibition test and the morphological study to evaluate the anti-T. gondii activity of Suaeda maritime extract with HeLa cells. As the results, the inhibition rate of the Suaeda maritime extract was high inhibition rate. This indicates that the Suaeda maritime extract may be used for new anti-T. gondii agent.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2016

Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of foodborne, inflammatory illnesses, as well as congenital abnormalities. Currently available therapies are ineffective for persistent chronic disease and congenital toxoplasmosis or have severe side effects which may result in life-threatening complications. There is an urgent need for safe and effective therapies to eliminate or treat this cosmopolitan infectious disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro anti-Toxoplasma activities of Plantago asiatica L., one of the herbal extracts, using tachyzoit of T. gondii RH strain infected HeLa cells. As the results, the selectivity of Plantago asiatica L. extract was 4.5, which was higher than Sulfadiazine selectivity (0.4). Also, we perfomed the cell proliferation inhibition test and the morphological study to evaluate the anti-T. gondii activity of Plantago asiatica L. extract with HeLa cells. As the results, the inhibition rate of the Plantago asiatica L. extract was high inhibition rate. This indicates that the Plantago asiatica L. extract may be used for new anti-T. gondii agent.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.439-441
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• 2014

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis with symptoms of congenital neurological and ocular diseases and acquired lymphadenitis, retinochoroiditis, and meningoencephalitis. Small molecules which block the activity of protein kinases were tested in in vitro culture of T. gondii to find new therapeutic drugs of safer and more effective than the combined administration of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine that sometimes provoke lethal Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Among them, Gefitinib and Crizotinib inhibited intracellular growth of T. gondii in HeLa cells by counting the number of T. gondii per parasitophorous vacuolar membrane whereas Sunitinib did not. Gefitinib inhibited the growth of T. gondii in a dose-dependent manner over $5{\mu}M$ up to the tolerable concentration of HeLa cells and halted the division of the parasite immediately from the time point of treatment. Gefitinib inhibition suggests that tyrosine kinases of EGFR family or other homologous kinases of the parasite itself may be the target to cause the block of T. gondii growth.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.444-446
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• 2001

Objectives : Toxoplasmosis is a member of the zoonosis group and may cause congenital infection . Antibody positive rates of toxoplasmosis were examined in high school students in Cheju, Korea to facilitate the study aim of examining the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in school teachers of child-bearing age in Cheju Island. Methods : The study population comprised teachers of child-bearing age in primary, middle and high schools, aged 35 years and younger, who wished to be tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (IgG) by the indirect latex agglutination test (ILA) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results : The overall antibody positive rate was 3.8% in the study subjects (n=314), a rate which showed no significant difference due to birth place, history of bringing up pets, or history of contacting a cat. Conclusion : We confirmed that the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in a population of child-bearing teachers in Cheju Island was the same as that previously reported in other parts of Korea.