• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.558-567
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• 2000

Background : Recently, serologic techniques for tuberculosis have been developed and some of them, which are focusing on detection of serum antibodies mainly directed against specific 38-kDa Mycobacterium tuberculosis, have already been introduced into the markel. In this study, diagnostic significance of a new serologic test(ELISA kit) for pulmonary tuberculosis was evaluated. Method : Serologic test with newly developed ELISA kit was performed upon 474 individuals, who include 333 active pulmonary tuberculosis patients, 80 healthy cases, and 61 tuberculosis contact cases. This serologic test was based on the ELISA technique and designed to detect antibodies to mixed complex antigens including 38-kDa, which were developed by Erume Biotech Co., Seoul. Active pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed by sputum AFB smear and culture methods. Results : The seropositivities using this ELISA kit were 82.1% and 73.6% in smear-positive and negative groups among active pulmonary tuberculosis, respectively. And, it also showed that seronegativities were 97.5% and 85.2% in healthy and contact groups, respectively. As a whole, the results of our study using the ELISA kit as a diagnostic method for pulmonary tuberculosis showed 80.0% sensitivity for active pulmonary tuberculosis, 97.5% specificity, 96.1% positive predictive value, and 65.0% negative predictive value when the prevalence of tuberuclosis in the samples was 60.1%. Conclusion : Our results reveal that the detection of antibody its reaction with 38-kDa antigen of M. tuberculosis is not sufficient to be accepted as single diagnostic method for pulmonary tuberculosis. However, they suggest that ELISA kit may be considered as an adjunctive test to standard diagnostic techniques of pulmonary tuberculosis.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.152-155
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• 2009

Purpose: The most widely accepted tool for follow up management of thyroid cancer patients is serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement, but its value is limited by the interference of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-Tg Ab). Recently thyroglobulin measurement in the wash out of fine-needle aspiration biopsy specimens (Tg-FNAB) is frequently used for differential diagnosis of recurrences/metastases. The aim of this study was the investigation of the diagnostic utility of Tg-FNAB compared with serum Tg. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 41 consecutive patients with thyroid cancer who were evaluated for Tg-FNAB between January 2007 and February 2008 retrospectively. We ruled out 6 patients who anti-Tg Ab positive (${\geq}$100 U/mL) in the RIA (BRAHMS anti-Tgn RIA 100Det; BRAHMS Aktiengesell schaft, Berlin, Germany). Serum Tg and Tg-FNAB were measured by immunoradiometric assay (BRAHMS Tg pluS RIA 100 Det; BRAHMS Aktienge sellschaft, Berlin, Germany). We evaluated for Tg-FNAB compared with serum Tg and corresponding cytological smear. To compare the values of the two the t-test was used. Results: Tg-FNAB values were significantly higher (median 1,060 ng/mL, range 0.2~434,000 ng/mL) than serum Tg (median 2.5 ng/mL, range 0.9~131 ng/mL) (p=0.0394). The rate of correspondence with Tg-FNAB between cytological result was 87.9% and 65.9% in the case of serum Tg. Tg-FNAB was positive in 28 (24 with positive and 4 with suspicious cytology). Of the remaining 13 patients with negative Tg-FNAB, 1 had suspicious and 12 had unsuspicious cytology. serum Tg was positive in 26 (17 with positive and 3 with suspicious and 6 with unsuspicious cytology), Of the remaining 15 patients with negative serum Tg, 8 was positive in cytological result and 1 had suspicious and 6 had unsuspicious cytology. Conclusions: Tg-FNAB measurement is more accurate with high sensitivity (87.9%) than serum Tg (65.9%). The Tg-FNAB was a useful predictor for detecting recurrences/metastases with serum Tg.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1301-1306
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• 2012

We combined real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR (R/P) assays using a hydrolysis probe to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC)-specific 16S rRNA and its rRNA gene (rDNA). The assay was applied to 28 non-respiratory and 207 respiratory specimens from 218 patients. Total nucleic acids (including RNA and DNA) were extracted from samples, and results were considered positive if the repeat RT-PCR threshold cycle was ${\leq}35$ and the ratio of real-time RT-PCR and real-time PCR load was ${\geq}1.51$. The results were compared with those from existing methods, including smear, culture, and real-time PCR. Following resolution of the discrepant results between R/P assay and culture, the overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) of all samples (including non-respiratory and respiratory specimens) were 98.2%, 97.2%, 91.7%, and 99.4%, respectively, for R/P assay, and 83.9%, 89.9%, 72.3%, and 94.7%, respectively, for real-time PCR. Furthermore, the R/P assay of four patient samples showed a higher ratio before treatment than after several days of treatment. We conclude that the R/P assay is a rapid and accurate method for direct detection of MTBC, which can distinguish viable and nonviable MTBC, and thus may guide patient therapy and public health decisions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.411-418
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• 2002

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis(PAP) is a disorder in which an insoluble, proteinaceous material, rich in phospholipids, is deposited in the alveoli and bronchioles. The deficiency in the clearance and degradation of the intra-alveolar phospholipoproteinaceous material in PAP most likely represents a dysfunction of the type II pneumocytes. Although the pathogenesis and causative treatment of PAP is unclear a whole lung bronchopulmonary lavage is a relatively safe and effective treatment. Here we experienced a case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in a 62 year old female patient who had pulmonary tuberculosis approximately 20 years ago. She complained of aggravated dyspnea and chronic cough, and presented fine inspiratory crackles at both lung fields, diffuse ground glass opacity with some area of consolidation and smooth interlobular septal thickenings in both upper, right middled lobes, and a portion of right lower lobe. Optical microscopy of the lung tissue obtained by and open lung biopsy revealed many granulomas containing acid-fast smear positive bacilli and diffuse homogeneous PAS-positive fluid in the alveolar space. Immunohistochemical stain showed surfactant. A in the alveolar space. Antituberculosis drugs with bronchoalveolar lavage were used to treat the disease. Thereafter she showed improvement in her symptoms and a partial improvement in the chest X-ray and HRCT findings. We present a case of PAP associated with pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.173-176
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• 2012

Opisthorchis viverrini infection was found to be highly prevalent in 3 riverside villages (Ang Svay Chek A, B, and C) of the Prey Kabas District, Takeo Province. This area is located in the southern part of Cambodia, where the recovery of adult O. viverrini worms was recently reported. From May 2006 until May 2010, fecal examinations were performed on a total of 1,799 villagers using the Kato-Katz thick smear technique. In the 3 villages, the overall positive rate for helminth eggs ranged from 51.7 to 59.0% (av. 57.4%), and the percentage positive for O. viverrini was 46.4-50.6% (47.5%). Other helminths detected included hookworms (13.2%), echinostomes (2.9%), Trichuris trichiura (1.3%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.6%), and Taenia spp. (0.06%). The prevalence of O. viverrini eggs appeared to reflect a lower infection in younger individuals (<20 years) than in the adult population (>20 years). Men (50.4%) revealed a significantly higher (P=0.02) prevalence than women (44.3%). The Ang Svay Chek villages of the Prey Kabas District, Takeo Province, Cambodia have been confirmed to be a highly endemic area for human O. viverrini infection.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6429-6438
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• 2015

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in detoxification of carcinogenic electrophiles. The null genotypes in GSTM1 and GSTT1 have been implicated in carcinogenesis. Present study was planned to evaluate the influence of genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene loci in cervical carcinogenesis. The study was conducted in Lok Nayak hospital, New Delhi. DNA from clinical scrapes of 482 women with minor gynaecologic complaints attending Gynaecology OPD and tumor biopsies of 135 cervical cancer cases attending the cancer clinic was extracted. HPV DNA was detected by standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using L1 consensus primer pair. Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were analysed by multiplex PCR procedures. Differences in proportions were tested using Pearson's Chi-square test with Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The risk of cervical cancer was almost three times in women with GSTM1 homozygous null genotype (OR-2.62, 95%CI, 1.77-3.88; p<0.0001). No association of GSTM1 or GSTT1 homozygous null genotypes was observed in women with normal, precancerous and cervical cancerous lesions among ${\leq}35$ or >35 years of age groups. Smokers with null GSTT1 genotype had a higher risk of cervical cancer as compared to non-smokers (OR-3.01, 95% CI, 1.10-8.23; p=0.03). The results further showed that a significant increased risk of cervical cancer was observed in HPV positive smoker women with GSTT1 (OR-4.36, 95% CI, 1.27-15.03; p=0.02) and GSTM1T1 (OR-3.87, 95% CI, 1.05-14.23; p=0.04) homozygous null genotypes as compared to HPV positive non smokers. The results demonstrate that the GST null genotypes were alone not associated with the development of cervical cancer, but interacted with smoking and HPV to exert effects in our Delhi population.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.62-70
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• 1979

In order to evaluate the present status of hook-worm infection in the rural areas in Korea, stool examinations were undertaken in several selected rural villages in each year of 1970 and 1977. The methods employed were cellophane thick smear technique and brine floatation technique in 3,454 specimens collected from 7 different rural villages for the prevalence rate of hookworm infection and Stoll's dilution egg counting technique for the intensity of hookworm infection. The incidences of Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus infections were determind by polyethylene tube coproculture and by the evacuated adult worms after treatment with anthelmintics to the patients who were infected by hookworms. The results are as follows : 1) In 1970, 323(18.6%) out of 1,737 specimens collected from 4 different rural areas were positive for hook worm infection and the ranges of prevalence rates in those suveyed areas were shown as 6.9 to 38.2 per cent. On the other hand, 144(8.2%) out of 1,717 specimens collected from 3 different rural areas in 1977 were shown as positive for hookworm infection and 7.5 to 10.6 per cent of prvalence rates were shown in the surveyed areas. 2) In the age group under 10 years, there was no infection of hookworm in the studied areas in 1977, however in 1970 the prevalence of the hookworm infection was shown as very low in the age group of 5~9. On the whole, the hookworm prevalence steadily increased from the age of 15 in the studied areas in 1970, however in 1977 the prevalence increased from the age of 20 to the older age groups. 3) There was not observed much differences in the intensity of hookworm infection among the studied areas in 1970 and 1977. The mean EPG in each studied areas were shown under 1,000 EPG and mean numbers of evacuated worms per infected persons were counted as 9.4 to 15. 1. 4) Both A.duodenale and N.americanus have been found in all studied areas but the incidences and st-ate of distribution of two species of hookworn were shown as different in each localities.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.289-291
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• 2008

The Tamjin River which flows from Jangheung-gun via Gangjin-gun to the South Sea was reported to be a highly endemic area of Metagonimus yokogawai infection in 1977 and 1985. However, there were no recent studies demonstrating how much change occurred in the endemicity, in terms of prevalence and worm burden, of metagonimiasis in this river basin. Thus, a small-scale epidemiological survey was carried out on some residents along the Tamjin River basin in order to determine the current status of M. yokogawai infection. A total of 48 fecal samples were collected and examined by the Kato-Katz thick smear and formalin-ether sedimentation techniques. The egg positive rate of all helminths was 50.0%, and that of M. yokogawai was 37.5%, followed by C. sinensis 22.9% and G. seoi 4.2%. To obtain the adult flukes of M. yokogawai, 6 egg positive cases were treated with praziquantel 10 mg/kg in a single dose and purged with magnesium sulfate. A total of 5,225 adult flukes (average 871 specimens per person) of M. yokogawai were collected from their diarrheic stools. Compared with the data reported in 1977 and 1985, the individual worm burdens appeared to have decreased remarkably, although the prevalence did not decrease at all. It is suggested that the endemicity of M. yokogawai infection along the Tamjin River has been reduced. To confirm this suggestion, the status of infection in snail and fish intermediate hosts should be investigated.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.395-406
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• 1994

To study the conditions to enhance success of embryo transfer in the dog, 20 mixed-breed bitches were used for the experiment along with 4 male dogs for mating. The bitches were paired according to synchronism of natural estrus, or the counterpart as donor or recipient was treated with gonadotropin as FSH (follicular stimulating hormone) or PMSG (pregnant mare serum gonadotropin) for induction of estrus to be synchronized with estrus of the other bitch in natural estrus. Embryo recovery was performed in two ways for comparison, either by flushing each uterine horn after ovariohysterectomy or by flushing each horn in the state of non-ovariohysterectomy. In addition, the result of pregnancy according to the embryo stage and the repeatability of the experimental animals as donor or recipient were also investigated. FSH or PMSG was administered to the bitches which had passed over 4 months from last estrus, resulting in estrus-positive in 3 dogs of 6 FSH-treated dogs (50.0%), and in 5 dogs of 9 PMSG-treated dogs (55.6%), determined by proestrus signs and vaginal smear test. Estrus-positive bitches induced with gonadotropin were used as donor or recipient resulting in one embryo-recovered bitch as donor and one offspring-delivered bitch as recipient in 5 PMSG-treated dogs, whereas no result was obtained from 3 FSH-treated dogs. The rate of embryo recovery to be compared with number of corpus luteum was 68.2% in ovariohysterectomized dogs and 55.2% in non-ovariohysterectomized dogs, respectively. The number of dogs from which embryo was collected were 4 dogs of 6 ovariohysterectomized dogs (66.7%) and 6 dogs of 7 non-ovariohysterectomized dogs (85.7%), respectively. The result of parturition was obtained from one dog of 5 estrus-induced recipients, whereas no result was obtained from 3 natural-estrus recipients. The only dog which delivered a male puppy had been transferred 3 morulae and 2 blastocysts. Of 6 repeat-used bitches in canine embryo transfer, 3 dogs showed repeatability either as donor or recipient. These results indicated that inducing estrus of a dog with gonadotropin is feasible in canine embryo transfer to be synchronized with that of a natural-estrus dog, that embryo recovery is also possible in non-hysterectomized dogs, that the estrus-induced dog is also usable as recipient to result in parturition, and that repeat-use of a bitch as donor or(and) recipient is possible in canine embryo transfer.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.195-200
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• 2020

Soil-transmitted helminths, including Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura, are important intestinal parasites mostly affecting younger people in developing countries. In 2014-2015, we performed mass fecal examinations targeting a total of 2,227 schoolchildren in 3 districts (South Dagon, North Dagon, and Hlaing-thar-yar) of Yangon Region, Myanmar, using the Kato-Katz thick smear technique. The egg positive children were subjected to a mass drug administration (MDA) using a single oral dose of 400 mg albendazole. The pre-treatment egg positive rate (EPG/person) of A. lumbricoides averaged 17.2% (15,532); it was 25.2% (21,796), 14.2% (11,816), and 12.8% (12,983) in 3 districts, respectively, and that of T. trichiura averaged 19.4% (1,074), and was 24.1% (1,040), 12.3% (852), and 21.2% (1,330) in 3 districts, respectively. Follow-up fecal examinations performed 4 months post-MDA revealed considerable decreases of A. lumbricoides prevalence (EPG/person) to av. 8.3% (12,429), and 13.7% (17,640), 8.0% (7,797), and 4.5% (11,849) in 3 districts, respectively. However, T. trichiura did not show any recognizable decrease in the prevalence (EPG/person) remaining at av. 18.2% (862), and 18.5% (888), 11.5% (812), and 23.3% (887) in 3 districts, respectively. The results demonstrated difficulty in short-term control of T. trichiura by MDA using albendazole and suggested necessity of either a long-term MDA (>10 years) or changing the albendazole regimen into 2~3-day course (total 800 or 1,200 mg), or using an alternative drug/drug combination.