• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제78권2호
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• pp.47-55
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• 2015

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) constitutes about 20% of all cases of tuberculosis (TB) in Korea. Diagnosing EPTB remains challenging because clinical samples obtained from relatively inaccessible sites may be paucibacillary, thus decreasing the sensitivity of diagnostic tests. Whenever practical, every effort should be made to obtain appropriate specimens for both mycobacteriologic and histopathologic examinations. The measurement of biochemical markers in TB-affected serosal fluids (adenosine deaminase or gamma interferon) and molecular biology techniques such as polymerase chain reaction may be useful adjuncts in the diagnosis of EPTB. Although the disease usually responds to standard anti-TB drug therapy, the ideal regimen and duration of treatment have not yet been established. A paradoxical response frequently occurs during anti-TB therapy. It should be distinguished from other causes of clinical deterioration. Surgery is required mainly to obtain valid diagnostic specimens and to manage complications. Because smear microscopy or culture is not available to monitor patients with EPTB, clinical monitoring is the usual way to assess the response to treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제75권5호
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• pp.181-187
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• 2013

The emergence of new therapeutic agents for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) implies that histologic subtyping and molecular predictive testing are now essential for therapeutic decisions. Histologic subtype predicts the efficacy and toxicity of some treatment agents, as do genetic alterations, which can be important predictive factors in treatment selection. Molecular markers, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, are the best predictors of response to specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment agents. As the majority of patients with NSCLC present with unresectable disease, it is therefore crucial to optimize the use of tissue samples for diagnostic and predictive examinations, particularly for small biopsy and cytology specimens. Therefore, each institution needs to develop a diagnostic approach requiring close communication between the pulmonologist, radiologist, pathologist, and oncologist in order to preserve sufficient biopsy materials for molecular analysis as well as to ensure rapid diagnosis. Currently, personalized medicine in NSCLC is based on the histologic subtype and molecular status. This review summarizes strategies for tissue acquisition, histologic subtyping and molecular analysis for predictive testing in NSCLC.

• KSBB Journal
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.46-51
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• 2016

Recently paper based diagnostic kits have drawn great interest in the point-of-care testing market (POCT). The paper based detection systems provide inexpensive, rapid and safe analyses for disease markers and/or pathogens. Vitamin C (i.e., ascorbic acid) regulates body's immune system as an antioxidant agent. Humans, however, do not have enough amounts of enzymes involved in the synthesis of vitamin C that it is required to be obtained from their diets (e.g., beverages and/or supplements). Here, we have prepared a paper based kit to detect the concentration of Vitamin C presented in commercially available beverages. The evaluation provides the fast, simple and accurate results for detecting Vitamin C in the prepared paper based kit.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• 제9권2호
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• pp.43-50
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• 2007

Analysis of intraepidermal nerve fibers using skin biopsy is a recently developed technique, providing diagnostic information on small fiber neuropathies. The specimens are obtained by 3 mm punch biopsy, which is safe and minimally invasive. Immunohistochemical staining by Protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 demonstrate not only intraepidermal nerve fibers but dermal structures, such as sweat gland and erector papillae. Up to now, many studies agree that intraepidermal nerve fiber density is dramatically reduced in various sensory neuropathies. The utility of density measure was confirmed with high sensitivity in the diagnosis of sensory neuropathy, comparable to sural nerve biopsy or quantitative sensory testing. Besides quantitative methods, morphological changes like axonal swelling and fragmentation can be used as predegenerative markers. This article reviews the technique of skin biopsy and clinical and experimental usefulness of skin biopsy in diagnosing and monitoring peripheral neuropathies.

• 한국수의병리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국수의병리학회 2005년도 Proceedings of The 2nd Asian Society of Veterinary Pathology Symposium(Vol.2) and 2005 Annual Meeting of The Korean Society of Veterinary Pathology(Vol.9)
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• pp.104-105
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• 2005

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.2597-2603
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• 2016

Ovarian cancer is a highly malignant neoplasm with high mortality rates. Research to identify markers facilitating early detection has been pursued for many years. Currently, diagnosis is based on the CA 125 and HE4 markers, as well as the ROMA algorithm. The search continues for new proteins that meet the criteria of good markers A total of 90 patients were included in the present study, allocated into: group 1, ovarian cancer, with 29 patients; group 2, endometrial cysts, with 30s; and group 3, simple ovarian cysts, with 31. Following histopathological verification, the CA 125, HE4, and metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) levels were determined and the ROMA algorithm was calculated for all patients. The mean concentrations of all determined proteins, CA 125, HE4, and MMP3, as well as the ROMA values, were significantly higher in group 1 (ovarian cancer) compared to group 3 (simple ovarian cysts). The highest significant differences for the CA 125 levels (p<0.000001) and ROMA (p<0.000001) values were observed in postmenopausal women. For HE4, statistical significance was at the level of p=0.00001 compared to p=0.002 for MMP3. For the differentiation between ovarian cancer and endometrial cysts, the respective AUC ratios were obtained for CA 125, HE4, and MMP3 levels, as well as the ROMA values ( 0,93 / 0,96 / 0,75 / 0,98). After removing the post-menopausal patients, the MMP3 AUC value for ovarian cancer vs. benign ovarian cysts increased to 0.814. For post-menopausal women, the MMP3 AUC value for ovarian cancer vs. endometrial cysts was 0.843. As suggested by the results above, both the CA 125 and HE4 markers, as well as the ROMA algorithm, meet the criteria of a good diagnostic test for ovarian cancer. MMP3 seems to meet the criteria of a good diagnostic test, particularly in postmenopausal women; however, it is not superior to the tests used to date.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제66권6호
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• pp.681-689
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• 2023

Objective : Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a condition characterized by bleeding in the subarachnoid space, often resulting from the rupture of a cerebral aneurysm. Delayed cerebral ischemia caused by vasospasm is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in SAH patients, and inflammatory markers such as systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), systemic inflammatory index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and derived NLR (dNLR) have shown potential in predicting clinical vasospasm and outcomes in SAH patients. This article aims to investigate the relationship between inflammatory markers and cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmatic SAH (aSAH) and evaluate the predictive value of various indices, including SIRI, SII, NLR, and dNLR, in predicting clinical vasospasm. Methods : A retrospective analysis was performed on a cohort of 96 patients who met the inclusion criteria out of a total of 139 patients admitted Trakya University Hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of aSAH between January 2013 and December 2021. Diagnostic procedures, neurological examinations, and laboratory tests were performed to assess the patients' condition. The Student's t-test compared age variables, while the chi-square test compared categorical variables between the non-vasospasm (NVS) and vasospasm (VS) groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of laboratory parameters, calculating the area under the ROC curve, cut-off values, sensitivity, and specificity. A significance level of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results : The study included 96 patients divided into two groups : NVS and VS. Various laboratory parameters, such as NLR, SII, and dNLR, were measured daily for 15 days, and statistically significant differences were found in NLR on 7 days, with specific cut-off values identified for each day. SII showed a significant difference on day 9, while dNLR had significant differences on days 2, 4, and 9. Graphs depicting the values of these markers for each day are provided. Conclusion : Neuroinflammatory biomarkers, when used alongside radiology and scoring scales, can aid in predicting prognosis, determining severity and treatment decisions for aSAH, and further studies with larger patient groups are needed to gain more insights.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권11호
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• pp.1457-1466
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• 2023

Enteric fever is caused by typhoidal Salmonella serovars (Typhi, Paratyphi A, Paratyphi B, and Paratyphi C). Owing to the importance of Salmonella serovars in clinics and public hygiene, reliable diagnostics for typhoidal serovars are crucial. This study aimed to develop a novel diagnostic tool for typhoidal Salmonella serovars and evaluate the use of human blood for clinically diagnosing enteric fever. Five genes were selected to produce specific PCR results against typhoidal Salmonella serovars based on the genes of Salmonella Typhi. Heptaplex PCR, including genetic markers of generic Salmonella, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, and typhoidal Salmonella serovars, was developed. Typhoidal Salmonella heptaplex PCR using genomic DNAs from 200 Salmonella strains (112 serovars) provided specifically amplified PCR products for each typhoidal Salmonella serovar. These results suggest that heptaplex PCR can sufficiently discriminate between typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars. Heptaplex PCR was applied to Salmonella-spiked blood cultures directly and provided diagnostic results after 12- or 13.5-h blood culture. Additionally, it demonstrated diagnostic performance with colonies recovered from a 6-h blood culture. This study provides a reliable DNA-based tool for diagnosing typhoidal Salmonella serovars that may be useful in clinical microbiology and epidemiology.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.39-48
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• 2007

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease and hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) are frequent forms of genetically heterogeneous peripheral neuropathies. Reciprocal unequal crossover between flanking CMT1A-REPs on chromosome 17p11.2-p12 is a major cause of CMT type 1A (CMT1A) and HNPP. The importance of a sensitive and rapid method for identifying the CMT1A duplication and HNPP deletion is being emphasized. In the present study, we established a molecular diagnostic method for the CMT1A duplication and HNPP deletion based on hexaplex PCR of 6 microsatellite markers (D17S921, D17S9B, D17S9A, D17S918, D17S4A and D17S2230). The method is highly time-, cost- and sample-saving because the six markers are amplified by a single PCR reaction and resolved with a single capillary in 3 h. Several statistical and forensic estimates indicated that most of these markers are likely to be useful for diagnosing the peripheral neuropathies. Reproducibility, as determined by concordance between independent tests, was estimated to be 100%. The likelihood that genotypes of all six markers are homozygous in randomly selected individuals was calculated to be $1.6{\times}10^{-4}$, which indicates that the statistical error rate for this diagnosis of HNPP deletion is only 0.016%.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• 제58권2호
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• pp.93-100
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• 2015

Objective : Optimal treatment decision and estimation of the prognosis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is currently based on demographic and clinical predictors. But sometimes, there are limitations in these factors. In this study, we analyzed three central nervous system biomarkers in TBI patients, will discuss the roles and clinical applications of biomarkers in TBI. Methods : From July on 2013 to August on 2014, a total of 45 patients were included. The serum was obtained at the time of hospital admission, and biomarkers were extracted with centrifugal process. It was analyzed for the level of S-100 beta (S100B), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1). Results : This study included 33 males and 12 females with a mean age of 58.5 (19-84) years. TBI patients were classified into two groups. Group A was severe TBI with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score 3-5 and Group B was mild TBI with GCS score 13-15. The median serum concentration of S100B, GFAP, and UCH-L1 in severe TBI were raised 5.1 fold, 5.5 fold, and 439.1 fold compared to mild injury, respectively. The serum levels of these markers correlated significantly with the injury severity and clinical outcome (p<0.001). Increased level of markers was strongly predicted poor outcomes. Conclusion : S100B, GFAP, and UCH-L1 serum level of were significantly increased in TBI according to severity and associated clinical outcomes. Biomarkers have potential utility as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic adjuncts in the setting of TBI.