• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.141-145
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• 1996

Habitual pregnancy loss has been defined as three or more consecutive spontaneous abortions. The rate of recurrent pregnancy loss is 2% to 5% of reproducible women. Half of this failure can be explained by genetic, hormonal, infectious, and anatomic factors. And eighty percent of the unexplained failures are proposed to have an immunologic cause. The antiphospholipid antibodies are characterized by prolonged phospholipid-dependent coagulation test (known as APTT or Russel viper venom), thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and fetal loss. The association of antiphospholipid antibodies with one or more of these characteristic clinical features has been termed the antiphospholipid syndrome. We have experienced a case of successful live birth after treated a woman with heparin and aspirin who has experienced spontaneous abortion four times with antiphospholipid antibodies and present it with the review of literature.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3615-3617
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer molecular analysis by linkage analysis has the advantage of facilitating early diagnosis in asymptomatic genetic carriers, with a view to the preventive follow-up of these subjects and genetic counseling. The aim of this study was to evaluate BRCA1 gene D17S855 and D17S1322 markers in breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A series of 85 BC patients and 85 unrelated healthy women were recruited for haplotype analysis performed using two short tandem repeat markers located within the BRCA1 gene locus. Each marker was amplified with PCR genomic DNA from each individual and fluorescently end-labeled primers. Results: Both D17S855 and D17S1322 markers included 12 kinds of alleles. Results indicate that most of the BC patients shared two common 121-150 (11.2%, RR=1.56 and p=0.02) and 121-146 (5.6%, RR=1.9 and p=0.02) haplotypes. Conclusions: Our results should be helpful to understand the haplotype phase in the BRCA1 gene and establish a genetic screening strategy in the Iranian population.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.218-227
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• 2002

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease(PID) is a spectrum of inflammatory disorders of the female genital tract involving at least the endrometrium and may include the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and pelvic cavity. Women with PID acutely experience pain and are at risk for sepsis; however, the long-term complications such as chronic pelvic pain, organic changes like chronic salpingitis, adhesions, etc., and the significant increases in ectopic pregnancy and infertility are more important and hard to control. This study is about one patient who has chronic PID with inflammatory pelvic mass. The patient was treated with retention enema therapy which use herbs effective for reducing inflammation, resolution abdominal mass, promoting blood circulation. Also, treated with herbal medication of Danchisoyosan(丹梔逍遙散) and Moxibution at Zhongwan(中脘), Guanyuan(關元). After total treatment for three months, the patient's symptoms are improved and the size of inflammatory pelvic mass is reduced. This results indicates that the combination treatment, especially the retention enema therapy is effective on reducing symptoms of PID and the size of secondary inflammatory organic changes.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.48-64
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• 2002

The primary recognized health risk from common deficiencies in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), a cytoprotective enzyme for oxidative stress, is red blood cell hemolysis. Here we show that litters from untreated pregnant mutant mice with a hereditary G6PD deficiency had increased prenatal (fetal resorptions) and postnatal death. When treated with the anticonvulsant drug phenytoin, a human teratogen that is commonly used in pregnant women and causes embryonic oxidative stress, G6PD-deficient dams had higher embryonic DNA oxidation and more fetal death and birth defects. The reported G6PD gene mutation was confirmed and used to genotype fetal resorptions, which were primarily G6PD deficient. This is the first evidence that G6PD is a developmentally critical cytoprotective enzyme for both endogenous and xenobiotic-initiated embryopathic oxidative stress and DNA damage. G6PD deficiencies accordingly may have a broader biological relevance as important determinants of infertility, in utero and postnatal death, and teratogenesis.-Nicol, C. J., Zielenski, J., Tsui, L.-C., Wells, P. G. An embryoprotective role for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in developmental oxidative stress and chemical teratogenesis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 1998

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Tissue Culture Medium 199 (TCM) and Dulecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) on the blastulation and grade of human oocytes on Vero cells in vitro. A cohort of 79 and 93 oocytes in metaphase II stage were used in TCM 199 and DMEM respectively. No differences were found in the numer of oocytes showing two-pronuclei between TCM (82.3%) and DMEM (86.0%). The number of fertilized oocytes reaching the blastocyst was not significant in TCM (60.0%) and DMEM (63.1%). A total of 89 blastocysts were categorized into the four grades (BG1, BG2, BG3 and early) depending on their morphology. The number of embryos achieving the blastocyst grade 1 (BG1) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in DMEM (50.8%) than TCM (15.0%). It is concluded that cultured oocytes in DMEM with glutamine on Vero cells should be significantly increased BG1.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.194-197
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• 2021

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common disorder in reproductive-age women. In 2018, an international evidence-based guideline announced recommendations spanning a wide range of issues on the assessment and management of PCOS. From the 166 recommendations, the present study reviews those that are of particular clinical relevance for daily practice and introduces other relevant studies that have been published since the global guideline. The 2018 guideline increased the antral follicle count cutoff for the diagnosis of PCOS from 12 to 20 when using a high-frequency probe. Hirsutism was defined as having a score of ≥4-6 based on a lower percentile of 85%-90% or cluster analysis, which was lower than the traditionally used 95th percentile-based cutoff. The diagnosis of PCOS in adolescents is challenging, and irregular menstruation was defined carefully according to years from menarche. The use of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of PCOS was restricted to those 8 years after menarche. As medication for non-fertility indications, combined oral contraceptives are the first-line drug. Metformin, in addition to lifestyle modifications, should be considered for adult patients with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m² for the management of weight and metabolic outcomes. An aromatase inhibitor is the recommended first-line medication for ovulation induction, a subsequent individual patient data meta-analysis also reported the same conclusion. Whether the new global guideline will be fully adopted by many specialists and change clinical practice is open to question. Further studies are needed to better understand and manage PCOS patients well.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.4632-4640
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the education needs related to prenatal care program in married immigrant women and to suggest the meaningful data in developing prenatal care programs. Data collection was conducted in a multi-cultural center, D-city from 2014 Mar to 2015 April and a total of 71 subjects participated in this study. Education needs related to prenatal care programs were investigated using a questionnaire including infertility, human reproductive structures, prenatal educations, vaccinations, health problems managements and so on. Scores in education needs related to prenatal care programs were high in newborn baby safety managements, vaccinations, health care managements, newborn baby normal developments and newborn baby care managements. In addition, education needs related to fertility in the married immigrant women from Vietnam were higher than the married immigrant women from China and others (F=5.53, p<.05). Thus, based on the results of this study, the contents of an educational program needs to focus on newborn baby normal developments and nursing care management for them.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate the development rates of human embryos co-cultured with cumulus cells to each blastocyst stage. Human zygotes were co-cultured on cumulus cell monolayer in YS medium supplemented with 20% hFF. On day 2, if patient had four or more "good" embryos (regular blastomeres without fragmentation), embryos were further cultured for 72hrs. Blastocysts on day 5 were classified into early blastocyst (ErB), early expanding blastocyst (EEB), middle expanding Blastocyst (MEB), and expanded blastocyst (EdB) on the basis of their morphological aspects of trophectoderm cells and blastocoele. Subsequently, maximum 3 of best blastocysts were transferred in 486 cycles. The results in this study were as follows: Patients who had four or more "good" embryos on day 2 were 498 persons, but patients whose embryos could not be transferred due to failure in development to the blastocyst stage on day 5 were 12 persons (2.4%). The development rate of embryos to the blastocyst stage was 58.2% (2,885/4,957) on day 5, and the rates that developed to the ErB, EEB, MEB, and EdB stage were 15.0% (743/4,957), 14.9% (739/4,957), 14.4% (714/ 4,957), and 13.9% (689/4,957), respectively. Total 1366 blastocysts were transferred in 486 cycles (mean number=2.81). The implantation rate and the ongoing implantation rate obtained by observing the number of G-sac and FHB were 29.9% (409/1,366) and 22.5% (308/1,366), respectively. The clinical pregnancy rate was 51.2% (249/486), and the ongoing pregnancy rate' was 39.1% (190/486). Among women showing ongoing pregnancy, women with singleton were 50% (95/190), women with twin were 37.9% (72/190), and women with triplet were 12.1% (23/190). Although triplet pregnancy rate in this study was high such as 12.1%, because many blastocysts with high viability were produced in our co-culture system using cumulus cells on day 5, we really believe that a multiple pregnancy except twin should not occur by selecting good embryos for maximum two blastocyst transfer. These results demonstrate that autologous cumulus cells may be used for the production of blastocysts with high developmental competence, and the use of autologous cumulus cells to be collected easily, and to be treated conveniently at OPU must be an effective means for obtaining high implantation and pregnancy rate.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.136-153
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out whether east asian herbal medicine (EAHM) treatment alone is effective in improving pregnancy-related indicators compared to conventional medicine in women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR). Methods: We searched eligible studies from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, CiNii, Korean Medical Database, Korean Studies Information Service System, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, ScienceOn. GRADE pro was used to evaluate the current evidence of the study. Result: A total of 5 studies, 325 women with DOR were included. EAHM showed a significant effect on improvement of pregnancy rate (n=270, RR 2.13 [95% CI 1.44 to 3.15], Z=3.78, p=0.0002, I2=0%) and Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) level (n=211, SMD 0.82 [95% CI 0.40 to 1.25], Z=3.80, p=0.0001) compared to conventional medicine. In ovulation rate (n=156, RR 0.86 [95% CI 0.70 to 1.06], Z=1.43, p=0.15, I2=0%), Antral Follicle Count (n=245, SMD 0.27 [95% CI -0.25 to 0.79], Z=1.01, p=0.31), and follicle stimulating hormone (n=245, SMD 0.29 [95% CI -0.13 to 0.70], Z=1.36, p=0.17) level, EAHM showed similar effects to conventional medicine. In this study, the most frequently used herbal medicines were Cuscutae Semen, Dipsaci Radix, and Angelicae Gigantis Radix. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that EAHM could improve pregnancy rates and AMH levels in women with DOR. However, more well-designed RCTs will have to be performed further in the future.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.5 no.1 s.9
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• pp.93-123
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• 2005

This work has following two research goals. First, IVF treatments that have been recently going on in Korea are reexamined from the perspective of women's reproductive rights. Second, the intimate connection between IVF and therapeutic cloning research, in that remnant embryos and eggs that have been secured through IVF treatments have served as a main source of supply for therapeutic cloning research, has been emphasized. The fact that the influencing power of tradition on Korean families and women and IVF techniques eventually joined their hands in support of therapeutic cloning research is noted. Analysis of experiences of infertility by women in the realms of family, medical care during IVF treatment, and therapeutic cloning research that requires continuous supply of eggs leads to following conclusions. First, in the realm of family, infertile women were not only relegated to the status of abnormality but pressured to question their own womanhood. Under this circumstance, IVF treatment helped to reinforce the traditional concept of biological motherhood, thus categorizing married women giving birth to babies and married women who can't or refuses to do so to 'normal ones' and 'abnormal ones' respectively. Second, in the realm of medical care an infertile woman could rediscover her own body during the process of IVF treatment. By going through the processes of hormone treatment, implantation, conception, miscarriage, and so on, she could realize that her own body is understood in diverse ways to her, her family, and the medical profession. Third, in the realm of the state, IVF treatment that was serving as the main supplier of research materials for therapeutic cloning research has been able to avoid controversy in public discourses since the latter has emerged as a signifier of new national economic workhorse for the 21st century. As therapeutic cloning research went into high gear, the status of women as egg providers began to assume a political dimension. Women as egg providers are called upon to take on a paradoxical role as patriotic contributors to national economy on the one hand and as guardians of sacred 'life' on the other hand. The direction and progress of the research will depend on the ways that women comply, compromise, and/or resist the contradiction brought about by being assigned to assume these two identities: the one as a member of the nation requested to serve as a part of national economic development project, even though considered ineligible for financial recompense, and the other one as a guardian of sacred 'life,' even though she have to serve the research that is allowed to create a 'life' to destroy a 'life.'