• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2001

Precise mechanism by which the fetus can escape from mother's immune rejection is not well understood yet over the last 50 years. The clarification of immune mechanism at the feto-maternal interface is very important, because this can be a common pathogenesis of various pathologic conditions including spontaneous abortion, habitual abortion fetal growth restriction preeclampsia, implantation failure after assisted reproductive techniques, and fetal death. In this review, current hypothetical contents were described with the priority of importance: 1) The center of this mechanism is cross-talk between the expression of HLA-C, E, G on the extravillous cytotrophoblasts and their receptors on decidual NK cell, 2) immunomodulation, 3) innate immunity is the main immunologic mechanism, 4) various mechanisms besides HLA system(eq. complement) may be associated. The overall balance of immunomodulation among these mechanisms should result in the outcome of each pregnancy. Further researches regarding the regulation of HLA system, roles of cytokines, complements should be followed in the future.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 1986

A reveiw of 85 patients with uterine anomalies was made in respect to the incidence, chief complaints, the reason of infertility, fetal wastage rate, pregnancy complications, fetal presentations and obstetric outcome after metroplasty from 1980 to 1985. The results were summarized as follows: 1. Incidence of uterine anomaly was 0.18% among all outpatients (85/48,240). 2. Of the 85 patients, there were 36 with bicornuate deformities (42.3%), 21 septate (24.7%), 18 uterus didelphys (21.2%), 8 arcuate (9.4%) and 2 patients with unicornuate anomalies (2.4%). 3. Uterine anomalies were diagnosed by hysterosalpingogram (54.1%), pelvic examination (14.2%) and other operative procedures. 4. Chief complaints were primary infertility (41.2%), secondary infertility (15.3%), repeated pregnancy loss (12.9%), antenatal care (11.8%) and menstural disturbance (10.6%), etc. 5. Twenty-nine patients with uterine anomalies had primary infertility. The cause of infertility was proved nonuterine in 26 cases and remained unknown in 3 cases. 6. The obstetric outcome of 104 pregnancies was spontaneous abortion in 51.0%, premature delivery in 11.50/0 and fetal loss in 57.7%. 7. Complications of 41 present pregnancies were threatened abortion (22%), premature rupture of membrane (12%) and premature labor (10%), etc. The frequency of abnormal presentation was 35.3% and 64.7% of deliveries was made by Cesarian section. 8. Metroplasty was performed in 13 patients who didn't have a baby because of repeated miscarriage and unknown cause of infertility. Subsequently 8 patients had 9 successful pregnancies: 6 patients had 7 healthy babies and 2 patients are now in pregnancy without any complications.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

A disrupted immune system during pregnancy is involved in pregnancy complications, such as spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia, and recurrent pregnancy loss. This study examined the role of toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD [c-terminal caspase recruitment domain]) in pregnancy complications using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced miscarriage mice model. Incidences of miscarriage and embryonic resorption were examined at 9.5 days of pregnancy in wild-type (WT), ASC knockout (KO), and TLR4 KO mice after injecting them with LPS. The fetuses and placenta were obtained after sacrifice at 15.5 days of pregnancy. A significantly lower frequency of fetus absorption was found in TLR4 KO mice, whereas corresponding absorption outcomes were strongly induced in the WT and ASC KO mice upon an LPS injection. As expected, TLR4 KO mice were resistant to LPS-induced abortion. A histological analysis of the miscarried placenta showed increasing levels of the eosin staining of spongiotrophoblast cells without any obvious difference between WT and ASC KO mice. These results suggest that TLR4 KO mice are resistant to LPS, which affects pregnancy persistence, whereas WT and ASC KO mice show high miscarriage rates due to LPS. Moreover, the ASC adaptor is not directly involved in LPS-induced miscarriages, and the NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated by other proteins in the absence of ASC.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.33-53
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• 1988

This study aimed at developing a desirable family planning policy and strategy by examining the current status of family planning practice in rural Korea and by indentifying the crucial factors which affect fertility control behavior. For this purpose, an analytical study was conducted, using the survey data collected in July 1985, on an interview basis, on 1, 440 married women living in the Soyi, Wonnam and Maingdong townships of Eumseong County(in North Chungcheong Province). This study population has the typical characteristics of rural areas, and the results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. In regard to the demographic characteristics of the study population : their average age at marriage was 23.7, they had an average of 2.6 children( 1.3 boys, 1.3 girls) :10% experienced the death of their child (ren) :14% had spontaneous abortion(s) :4% weathered stillbirth(s) :35% went through induced abortion (s) : and 5.5% were currently pregnant. The average of their ideal numbers of children was 2.2, while 44% felt that they must have a son. 2. Looking at the contact rate with medical & health institutions, over the past 1 year, the visit rate to health subcenters was 43.7%, while 26.9% visited the (county) health center :59.6% had been to private clinics : and 41.5% went to the Soonchunhyang - Eumsung hospital : thus showing a relatively high rate of accessibility. 3. The utilization rate of family planning services was 76.5%, with tubectomy being the most prominent method at 52.3%, while the informants were health workers in 54.2% of the acceptors. Of the 8.4% who discontinued the use of contraceptive methods, only 26% did so due to want for pregnancy, natural infertility (meno - pause), or other reasons, while the remaining 74% stopped usage on account of side effects, failure in the methods themselves, and inconvenience of use, thus pointing to a situation where the proper choice of family planning methods have not yet been made. It can be noted that there is a strong motivation for early birth stopping as 35.3% practice family planning even with only one child, of which 38.3% have had sterilization operations. According to results of a multiple regression analysis, among the variables affecting contraception usage the most significant variable was the number of sons. 4. 34.8% experienced induced abortions. It was shown as a result of multiple regression analysis that the number of children and attitudes toward induced abortions extensively affected their frequency of abortions conducted. 5. In the regard to the relation between family planning and induced abortions, 33.7% of the women used both, while 52.0% of them used only the former(family planning), with only 1.4 % utilizing solely the latter(abortion), and 12.9% totally abstaining from fertility regulation : again, the discriminant analysis indicated that the choice of family planning and/or induced abortion was determined by the number of children and attitudes toward induced abortion. In view of the above mentioned results, the following are some comments and suggestions concerning problems related to the current family planning policies, in Korea : 1. It is difficult to expect a further quantitative expansion in family planning program operations, as there has been an excessive supply of target-oriented sterilization operations on women. From a maternal and child health care point of view, it will be desirable to have a diversification of service points in the future where family planning methods may be properly chosen, so that choices of methods which suit the mothers' characteristics and tastes may be made by the individuals themselves by strengthening their quality of family planning information services. 2. Along with the strengthening of the qualitative improvement of family planning services policies must be implemented to effectively promote the moral (ethical) deterrents to induced abortions and to preference for sons. From a maternal care standpoint, the social permissive norm toward induced abortion must be modified, and the bias towards son must be analyzed as the women with more daughters have a lower rate of family planning acceptance. Such changes in attitudes, however, can not be hoped to be accomplished with ad hoc policies, but will only be possible when an enhancement of the women's status(within the society) is brought about in a long - term perspective.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.74-79
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• 1982

Recently in Korea, integration of F.P. & MCH programs for effective and efficient implementation of the health programs has been discussed actively. In fact, categorical health workers in fields have been trained and changed as an integrated health workers by government. But one of the most important problems that had to be solved for successful integration of F.P. and MCH programs, is that there must be a common indicator for the evaluation of the two health services (integrated indicator). We regarded reproductive efficiency (=R.E.) that had been proposed by Charlotter M$\ddot{u}$ller et al, as the good integrated indicator. The object of this brief article is to introduce the meaning of reproductive efficiency and to illustrate the usefulnesses of R.E. as the integrated health indicator by applying this indicator to the data from preliminary survey of Seosan demonstration project for integration of F.P. & MCH service supported by WHO. The results and conclusions are as follows 1) Definition of R.E. is the percentage of pregnancies that succeed in production normal, surving children after taking into account the frequency of all measurable types of adverse outcomes (End point for evaluation of survival is one year of age). 2) On the basis of the past pregnant history, reproductive efficiency of the 2,484 eligible women (15-44 years) was roughly 75% (But, in the concept of good births, it is not regarded whether the survived infant is normal health or not). 3) Compared with the results of the other two surveys of the rural area in Korea, reproductive efficiency has been slightly decreased than before, in spite of family planning and MCH services for past 20 years. Because the quantity of increased abortion rate overwhelmed that of the decreased infant mortality rate. 4) Reproductive efficiency has the object for measure many events during the period from the conception (Wanted pregnancy) to an normal surviving children as an 1 year of age. So these heterogenous adversities, ie, induced abortion, still births, spontaneous abortion, neonate & infant death, are aggregated as R.E. However, if the information of these important events and reproductive efficiency were given, R.E. is used as the comprehensive evaluation indicator for F.P. and M.C.H. after meticulous analysis the various components of R.E. 5) Economic loss for adverse outcomes of preg were pregnancy were calculated applying the medical cost at the relatively small sized hospital of small city. Economic loss for 100 cases of adverse outcome is 10,420,000 won, and economic loss for infant death is 46.1% of the total loss. So, it is rational to invest much more effort and than before to MCH programs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.21 no.2 s.24
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• pp.207-216
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• 1988

Premature rupture of membrane is the most frequent cause of low birth weight infant delivery which increase the maternal and fetal morbidity and perinatal mortality. A retrospective case-control study was performed on 315 mothers who delivered low birth weight infants($\leq$2.5kg) with premature rupture of membrane and as control group 546 mothers who delivered normal birth weight infants(2.9-3.7kg) without premature rupture of membrane were chosen. The results obtained from this study were as follows: 1. The proportion of low birth weight infants due to premature rupture of membrane among all low birth weight infant deliveries was 14.5%, and this is equivalent to 1.1% among all deliveries. 2. The most significant maternal risk factor of low birth weight infant deliveries with premature rupture of membrane was infections on vagina, cervix and uterus during pregnancy. Compared with control, adjusted odds ratio was 7.61(95% confidence interval(CI) 1.88-30.88, p=0.004). Other significant maternal risk factors were the history of induced abortion, spontaneous abortion, and the experience of premature delivery. The risk ratios were 1.82, 2.07, 4.42, respectively. 3. Breech presentation did increase the risk of low birth weight infant delivery with premature rupture of membrane compared with control(Adjusted Odds ratio=2.66, 95% CI 1.35-5.26, p=0.005). 4. Mothers who had not taken antenatal care were having higher risk of low birth weight infant delivery with premature rupture of membrane against control(Adjusted odds ratio=1.73, 95% CI 1.19-2.53, p=0.004). These study results show that maternal factors such as the infection of genital organs during pregnancy, the history of induced abortion and breech presentation are significantly associated with the premature rupture of membrane in the low birth weight deliveries, and that most of these risk factors are controllable ones through proper antenatal cares.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.94-98
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• 2009

Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is a foodborne anaerobic gram-positive rod and the third most common pathogen for neonatal meningitis. Although the mortality and morbidity of L. monocytogenes infections are high, thus causing serious problems in Western populations, neonatal listeriosis is relatively rare in Eastern countries, including Korea. Possible routes for intrauterine infection or vertical transmission of L. monocytogenes include infected placentas and the reproductive tract. Intrauterine infections may cause chorioamnionitis, preterm labor, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, or neonatal infection. A high index of suspicion and early empirical antibiotic treatment are critical to achieve a favorable prognosis for neonatal listeriosis. We managed a case of L. monocytogenes sepsis and pneumonia in a premature neonate born at 26 weeks of gestational age from an asymptomatic mother with culture-proven placental infection. The neonate was successively treated with ampicillin and gentamicin.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.26-26
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• 2003

During the Viet Nam war, A Luoi located in Thua Thien Hue Province was heavily sprayed herbicides by the Ranch Hand Operation of U.S.A force (549.274 gallons). After 30 years of knocking the operation off, Dioxin has still contaminated on environment and human body in A Luoi valley. The results of the study show that there is an epidemiological relationship between AO/Dioxin exposure and increasing rate of reproductive anomalies and birth defects (the rate of reproductive anomalies including congenital deformities after the war during 10-year and 25-year is higher than that before the war from 1.5 to 4 times). The study found that the highest rate of reproductive anomalies is spontaneous abortion. The average is premature death and congenital deformities, and the lowest rate is dead foetus and hydratidiform mole. The results of the primary assessment suggested that Dioxin transport from environment to human body through the food chain exposed by Dioxin such as fish, chicken, duck. A mitigation plan for residual dioxin contamination from Agent Orange Hervicides is requeste indispensable to inhabitants in Aluoi District.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.215-220
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• 1994

We have reviewed the pregnancy rate and outcome of 130 patients who underwent tubocornual anstomosis for correction of proximal tutal occlusion at Dong San Medical Center between September 1983 to May 1994. Tubal occlusion was the result of previous tubal sterilization in 115 patients(99 laparoscopic electrocautery, 16 laparoscopic ring, 1 tubal ligation with partially segmental resection and previous tubal infection in 14. Sixty four of the patients conceived(61.5%). Viable pregnancy was achieved in fifty patients (48%), tubal pregnancy in six (5.7%) and spontaneous abortion in eight(6.1%). No significant difference in pregnancy rates was found between patients with diseased cornua and those previously sterilized by either electrocautery or tubal ligation. We conclude that tubocornual anastomosis still remains the treatment of choice for patients with proximal tubal obstruction.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.167-180
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• 2015

Arsenic is a toxic metalloid that exists ubiquitously in the environment, and affects global health problems due to its carcinogenicity. In most populations, the main source of arsenic exposure is the drinking water. In drinking water, chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with increased risks of various cancers including those of skin, lung, bladder, and liver, as well as numerous other non-cancer diseases including gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurologic and cognitive problems. Recent emerging evidences suggest that arsenic exposure affects the reproductive and developmental toxicity. Prenatal exposure to inorganic arsenic causes adverse pregnancy outcomes and children's health problems. Some epidemiological studies have reported that arsenic exposure induces premature delivery, spontaneous abortion, and stillbirth. In animal studies, inorganic arsenic also causes fetal malformation, growth retardation, and fetal death. These toxic effects depend on dose, route and gestation periods of arsenic exposure. In males, inorganic arsenic causes reproductive dysfunctions including reductions of the testis weights, accessory sex organs weights, and epididymal sperm counts. In addition, inorganic arsenic exposure also induces alterations of spermatogenesis, reductions of testosterone and gonadotrophins, and disruptions of steroidogenesis. However, the reproductive and developmental problems following arsenic exposure are poorly understood, and the molecular mechanism of arsenic-induced reproductive toxicity remains unclear. Thus, we further investigated several possible mechanisms underlying arsenic-induced reproductive toxicity.