• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.209-213
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• 2001

Objective : To evaluate factor XII deficiency in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion and its relation to aPTT. Material and Method: Factor XII was analyzed by clotting method. Results: Of 70 patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion, there were 35 cases of factor XII deficiency. Among them, there were only 3 cases of prolonged aPTT. Conclusions: It is still unclear whether factor XII deficiency is related to recurrent spontaneous abortion. Molecular approaches should be used to understand further the causal relationship. But based on this result, in the workup of patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion, factor XII should be included. aPTT is not likely to represent the abnormality of factor XII.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.182-188
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• 1999

This study was performed to determine the causes of the bursting casualties such as death of sows and piglets, abortion, still birth and infertility in a pig farm after consecutive detonation for three months to construct 345 KV in Kimje area. 1. Temperatures in Kimje district, management condition, microorganism in the feed, inbreeding, hematological conditions, and viral agent causing abortion were not proved as the factors of acute occurrence of abortion and infertility in the pig farm. 2. The amount of explosive was increased from 250 kg to 1,100 kg from 23 Dec. 1996 to 28 Jan. 1997 and at the same time the distance between the spot of detonation and the pig farm got closer, from 200 m at the begining to 100 m at the last detonation. 3. Theoretical concussion and sound values were 0.66 kine and 89.39 ㏈, respectively, in the case of 100 m distance between the detonation spot and the pig farm. In conclusion, death of 675 piglets and 11 sows and infertility of 69 sows in the pig farm were assumed to be caused by the concussion or sound stress after detonation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.301-305
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• 2001

Objective : To analyze the antithrombin II deficiency in patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion. Material and Method: The blood samples were tested by chromogenic assay to evaluate the activity of antithrombin III. Results: There was only one case of antithrombin III deficiency. This patient experienced one neonatal death after delivery and one FDIU (fetal death in utero). And also this patient showed a lupus anticoagulant and the prolongation of PTT. Conclusions: Women with recurrent miscarriage who have no obvious identified cause should consider hematologic screening. Antithrombin III deficiency could be a cause of recurrent spontaneous abortion. But the incidence is very rare in Korean patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.271-274
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• 1999

Activated factor XII (FXIIc: Hageman factor) is a central component of the contact activation system of blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and kinin formation. Although patients deficient in FXIIc (up to 50% of normal) do not show increased bleeding tendency, thrombotic complications were reported in 8% to 10% among these patients. The reduced generation of bradykinin resulting in diminished release of tissue plasminogen activator is proposed as a cause of thrombosis in factor XII (FXII)-deficient patients. Similarly, in patients with elevated levels of circulating antiphospholipid antibodies, hemostasis may be impaired resulting in excessive thrombophilia. Both vascular and placental thromboses because of antiphospholipid antibodies or FXIIc deficiency have been reported to be associated with recurrent fetal loss. We have experienced a case of factor XII deficiency in woman with recurrent spontaneous abortion. So we report this case with a brief review of literatures.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.65-72
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• 2007

Fatigue is a significant problem in health care. The relationship between chronic fatigue and psychiatric disorders has generated significant interest in recent years. Increased rates of psychiatric disorder among individuals with chronic fatigue have been reported. Fatigue may be defined as physical and/or mental weariness resulting from exertion. The cause of fatigue is complex, influenced by events occurring in both the periphery and the central nervous system. Because fatigue may result from a number of causes, it should be treated comprehensively. The treatment is largely symptomatic and rehabilitative.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2006

Objectives: The risk of aneuploidies of embryos increases in advanced maternal age or parental karyotype abnormality and it results in poor reproductive outcomes such as recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) or repeated implantation failure (RIF). Preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy screening (PGD-AS) can be applied for better ART outcome by selecting chromosomally normal embryos. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of PGD-AS and which group can get much benefit from PGD-AS among the patients expected to have poor reproductive outcome. Methods: In 42 patients, 77 PGD cycles were performed for aneuploidy screening. Patients were allocated to 3 groups according to the indication of PGD-AS: group I-patients with old age (${\geq}37$) and RIF more than 3 times (n=11, mean age=42.2 yrs.), group II-patients with RSA (${\geq}3$ times) associated with aneuploid pregnancy (n=19, mean age=38.9 yrs.), group III-parental sex chromosome abnormality or mosaicism (n=18, mean age=29.6 yrs.) including Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome and 47, XYY. PGD was performed by using FISH for chromosome 13, 16, 18, 21, X and Y in group I and II, and chromosome X, Y and 18 (or 17) in group III. Results: Blastomere biopsy was successful in 530 embryos and FISH efficiency was 92.3%. The proportions of transferable embryos in each group were $32.5{\pm}17.5%$, $23.0{\pm}21.7%$ and $52.6{\pm}29.2%$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively, showing higher normal rate in group III (group II vs. III, p<0.05). The numbers of transferred embryos in each group were $3.9{\pm}1.5$, $1.9{\pm}1.1$ and $3.1{\pm}1.4$ (mean ${\pm}$ SD), respectively. The clinical pregnancy rates per transfer was 0%, 30.0% and 20.0%, and it was significantly higher in group II (group I vs. group II, p<0.05). The overall pregnancy rate per transfer was 19.6% (10/51) and the spontaneous abortion rate was 20% (2/10) of which karyotypes were euploid. Nine healthy babies (one twin pregnancy) were born with normal karyotype confirmed on amniocentesis. Conclusion: Our data suggests that PGD-AS provides advantages in patients with RSA associated with aneuploidy or sex chromosome abnormality, decreasing abortion rate and increasing ongoing pregnancy rate. It is not likely to be beneficial in RIF group due to other detrimental factors involved in implantation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.131-141
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• 2008

Objective: To compare the outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with fresh and cryopreserved-thawed testicular spermatozoa in patients with azoospermia. Methods: One hundred and nine cycles (66 couples) where ICSI was planned with fresh or cryopreserved-thawed testicular spermatozoa were included in this study; Ninety two cycles (61 couples) with fresh testicular spermatozoa (fresh group) and seventeen cycles (13 couples) with cryopreserved-thawed testicular spermatozoa (cryopreserved-thawed group). We compared ICSI outcomes such as fertilization rate, implantation rate, pregnancy rate and miscarriage rate, which were statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher's exact test, where appropriate. Results: In 9 out of the 92 cycles where ICSI was planned with fresh testicular spermatozoa, testicular spermatozoa could not be retrieved. Fertilization rate tended to be higher in the fresh group than in the cryopreserved-thawed group ($58.0{\pm}27.8%$ vs. $45.9{\pm}25.0%$, p=0.076). The number of high quality embryos was significantly higher in the fresh group ($0.9{\pm}1.2$ vs. $0.2{\pm}0.5$, p=0.002). However, there were no significant differences in clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate and miscarriage rate between the two groups. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that although the use of cryopreserved-thawed testicular sperm for ICSI in patients with azoospermia may reduce fertilization capacity and embryo quality, it may not affect pregnancy rate, implantation rate and miscarriage rate. If testicular sperm can be obtained before ICSI procedure, the use of cryopreserved-thawed testicular sperm may also avoid unnecessary controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and cancellation of oocyte retrieval when spermatozoa cannot be retrieved as well as damage on testicular function by repeated TESE.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.381-387
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• 2006

Purpose : Neonatal lupus is characterized by congenital complete heart block(CCHB), cutaneous rash, and laboratory abnormalities in infants born to mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). This study aims to examine the incidence of CCHB and clinical outcome in neonates born to mothers with SLE. Methods : The study group consisted of 49 neonates, born from 57 pregnancies of 55 women with SLE, diagnosed at Hanyang University Hospital for the period between January 1997 and January 2005. Clinical and laboratory data were retrospectively identified from medical record. Results : There were 5(8.8 percent) spontaneous abortions and one(1.8 percent) still births among 57 pregnancies of 55 mothers. Of 49 live births, 15(26.3 percent) were premature and eight(12.3 percent) were small for their gestational age. There was one(1.8 percent) CCHB suspected during pregnancy on fetal echocardiograpy in a fetus of mother with systemic lupus erythematosus and the fetus was not born by artificial abortion because of mother. There was no CCHB among EKG findings of 49 newborns. Laboratory testing showed hematologic abnormalities among 25.6 percent(10/39) of the babies. 5.1 percent(2/39) and 7.7 percent(3/39) of them were diagnosed as neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia was seen respectively. Anti-SSA(Ro) and antiphospholipid antibodies were predictive factors for prematurity(P=0.003, P=0.049). Anticardiolipin antibodies were predictive factors for ventilatory care(P=0.018). Conclusion : The incidence of CCHB among neonates born to mothers with SLE, which was measured in this study, was lower than that in earlier studies. A high incidence of hematologic abnormalities was found in our study. It is suggested that careful examination should be made of skin for the diagnosis of neonatal lupus.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.514-522
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• 2004

Background : Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are useful in chemoprevention of colorectal cancers. Continuous NSAID administation causes 40% to 50% reduction in relative risk for colorectal cancer. Sulindac possesses an antiproliferative effect and induces apoptosis and tumor regression on colon cancer and other types of cancers. We intended to analyze the effects of sulindac in three non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods : The human lung cancer cell lines, A549, NCI-H157 and NCI-H460 were used for this study. Viability was tested by MTT assay, and cell death rate was measured by lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) release. Apoptosis was estimated by flow cytometric analysis and nuclear staining. Results: Sulindac was able to decrease the viability of non-small cell lung cancer cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner. In a parallel effect of sulindac on cell death rate, LDH release was increased in sulindac-treated lung cancer cells. Sulindac significantly increased apoptosis characterized by an increase of $sub-G_0/G_1$ fraction and morphological change of nuclei. The rate of apoptotic cells after sulindac treatment in lung cancer cells increased in a time- and dose- dependent manner in flow cytometric analysis. Apoptotic cells were defined as nuclear shrinkage, chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation of cells. Conclusion : Sulindac decreases viability and induces the apoptosis of lung cancer cells. Further studies will be needed to elucidate the potential mechanism of sulindac-induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

Samjunghwan (SJH) was fermented using five different probiotic bacterial strains (Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacterium longum) separately. We examined the inhibition of preadipocyte differentiation through Oil Red O staining and analyzed the expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ${\alpha}$ ($C/EPB{\alpha}$), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$), uncoupling protein (UCP)-2, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase which are adipogenic transcription factors. Both Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium-fermented SJH reduced Oil Red O dye staining compared with the same dose of non-fermented SJH. Only Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented SJH inhibited all adipogenic transcription factors and showed the best down-regulation of $PPAR{\gamma}$, UCP-2, and HMG-CoA reductase compared with the same dose of non-fermented SJH. The effect of SJH on the inhibition of preadipocyte differentiation was more prominent from the fermented SJH. Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented SJH, in particular, blocks the expression of $PPAR{\gamma}$, UCP-2, HMG-CoA reductase.