• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-66
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• 1973

A 16-year-old female Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) infected with Paragonimus kellicotti was described. Noticeable clinical symptom was not observed before death. At autopsy, numerous cysts were found on the pleural surface of the lung. The cysts were spherical, approximately 1.0 cm in diameter, bulge the pleura, and dark red-brown in color. Such cysts were also found in the deeper lung parenchyma, and usually contained adult flukes in pairs. Histopathologically, the cyst was lined with stratified squamous epithelium which arose from metaplasia of bronchial epithelium. Partial hyperplasia and necrotic foci accompanied with inflammatory cells were often observed in the squamous epithelium. The outer part of the cyst was consisted of fibrous connective tissue in which leukocytes were infiltrated. Catarrhal pneumonia was manifested in the adjacent lung tissues.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.310-312
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• 2014

When the juvenile worms of the genus Paragonimus migrate and cause defects on the surface of the visceral pleura, pneumothorax can develop. A 34-year-old woman was admitted for pneumothorax with which was developed after she ate raw fish and crab. A 21-year-old male soldier presented with recurrent bilateral pneumothorax without eosinophilia, caused after drinking stream water frequently. In both patients, paragonimiasis was suspected from the computed tomography scan and confirmed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test of the pleural fluid. When pneumothorax develops in patients who have ingested raw fresh-water crab or stream water, paragonimiasis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.407-410
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• 1991

A 35-year-old housewife living in Seoul complained of a recurrent palpable abdominal mass. Excisional biopsy was done. The cystic mass showed an immature worm of Paragonimus sp. in the cyst cavity. It measured $7{\times }4{\;}mm$ and showed well-developed oral and ventral sucker, uterus, 5-branched ovary and intestine after acetocarmine staining. But the testes and vitelline duct were not developed fully and there was no egg in the uterus. The patient has eaten raw fish. The case of ectopic paragonimiasis in the abdominal subcutaneous tissue was presented.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.635-638
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• 2019

Horace N. Allen, an American physician, was a Presbyterian missionary to Korea. In 1886, he wrote the annual report of the Korean government hospital, summarizing patient statistics according to outpatient and inpatient classification for the first ever in Korean history. In the report, he speculated that hemoptysis cases of outpatient might have been mainly caused by distoma. Allen's conjecture was noteworthy because only a few years lapsed since the first scientific report of paragonimiasis. However, he was not sure of his assumption either because it was not evidently supported by proper microscopic or post-mortem examinations. In this letter, we thus revisit his assumption with our parasitological data recently obtained from Joseon period mummies.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.353-355
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• 2022

We report a case of an 80-year-old Korean man with chronic cerebral paragonimiasis who presented with progressive memory impairment. He suffered from pulmonary paragonimiasis 60 years ago and has been experiencing epilepsy since the age of 45. He began experiencing memory and cognitive deterioration 3 years ago. He visited the neuropsychiatric department of our hospital to check his symptoms and health from a year ago. Contrast-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging study revealed calcifications and cystic lesions encompassing the right temporo-occipital region. Encephalomalatic changes were also observed in the right occipital and temporal areas. The anti-Paragonimus specific IgG antibodies in his serum showed a strong positive response. The neuropsychological test results showed a Global Deterioration Scale of 4 and a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale of 1. The chronic cerebral paragonimiasis lesions in the patient's right temporo-occipital region might induce the dementic change.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.345-387
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• 2023

Paleoparasitology is a discipline that applies existing conventional and molecular techniques to study parasites found in ancient ruins. This review focuses on the history of the discovery of parasites (mostly helminth eggs and larvae) in archaeological soil samples and mummies in Korea from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Joseon Dynasty (100 BCE-1910 CE). We also briefly review important milestones in global paleoparasitology. The helminth species reported so far in Korea included Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis (larva), Trichostrongylus sp. (larva), Paracapillaria philippinensis (syn. Capillaria philippinensis), Enterobius vermicularis, Fasciola hepatica, dicrocoeliids, Paragonimus westermani, Clonorchis sinensis, Metagonimus yokogawai, Pygidiopsis summa, Gymnophalloides seoi, Isthmiophora hortensis, Dibothriocephalus nihonkaiensis (syn. Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense), and Taenia spp. tapeworms. The findings obtained by Korean paleoparasitologists/archaeologists have brought about deep insight into the status of helminthic infections in Korea's past populations. Continued paleoparasitological research is essential for further understanding of ancient parasites and parasitic diseases in Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 1991

When the component proteins in crude saline extract of 13-week old adult Paragonimus westermani were observed by non-denaturing discontinuous-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Disc-PAGE), 8 distinct bands were clearly recognized. Molecular weight (MW) of each band protein, numbered in sequence from cathodal side which appeared in 10% separating gel, was measured first by Ferguson plot utilizing different gel concentrations from 10% to 4.5%. MW of band 1 Protein (known as egg Protein) was 440 kDa. And MW of other band Proteins were: 386 kDa in band 2, 17.4 kDa in band 3, 17kDa in band 4, 14.3 kDa in band 5, 46 kDa in band 6, 38 kDa in band 7 and 23 kDa in band 8. When the proteins in the crude extract were separated into fractions by molecular sieve chromatography through 1.6 (Φ)×70cm sired Sephacryl 5-300 Superane column and revisualized by Disc-PAGE in 8% gel, the sequence of fluted proteins was band 1, band 2, band 6, band 7 and bands 3,4,5 and 8. This elusion profile confirmed MW of each band protein in the crude extract as measured by Ferguson plot.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.134-140
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• 1991

The amino acid constituents of Paragonimus westermani were very imperfectively known. Lee(1964) detected 9 amino acids in the tissue hydrolysates of P. westermani, and 13 amino acids were detected from the cyst content and body fluid constituents of P. ohirai, But, the quantity of amino acids in P. westermani is still unknown. In the present investigation 18 amino acids, the fundamental constituents of proteins, were quantitatively studied by high performance liquid chromatography. The results obtained were as follows : A total of 18 amino acids were recovered in protein hydrolysates of P. westermani obtained from cat. ; They were cystein, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine. glycine, histidine. arginine, threonine, alanine, proline, tyrosine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and lysin. Among them, glutamic acid was the most abundant form and tryptophan, cystein, methionine, and histidine constitute minor portion of hydrolysates. Compared to the normal P. westermani, the volume of hydrolysates obtained from the praziquantel(PZQ) treated worm-0.lug PZQ/ml saline for 6 hours incubation, and $3{\times}25$mg/kg bwt${\times}$2days in vivo treatment was generally increased except tryptophan. A total of 17 free amino acids were identified and the volume was 174.18 umol/1 gm wet weight P. westermaini. Among them, glycine and alanine constitute 28% of total volume. No significant differences were observed in the material obtained from worm treated with PZQ. However, slight increase of serine, arginine and the slight diminution of glutamic acid and proline was observed.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.4 s.84
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• pp.462-469
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• 2007

In this study, we isolated, characterized, and compared the vasa homologous genes of diploid and triploid Paragonimus westermani and localized VASA homologous proteins in both lung fluke types. Open reading frames of Pw-vasa-2n and Pw-vasa-3n were of 1812 bp, and encoded deduced proteins of 622 amino acids with calculated molecular weights of 69.0 kDa and 68.9 kDa and pI's of 9.11 and 9.03, respectively. A comparison of these two VASA deduced protein sequences showed that only 6 of the 622 amino acids differed. The deduced sequences of Pw-VASA-2n and Pw-VASA-3n contained eight consensus sequences characteristic of the DEAD-box protein family and their N-terminal regions contained four arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) motifs. These two lung fluke VASA-like proteins were more similar to those of other VASA proteins than to those of other DEAD-family proteins isolated from several organisms (planarian, zebra fish, mouse, and human). vasa homologous gene transcription and VASA protein expressions in triploid type lung flukes was slightly stronger than in the diploid type. Immunostaining showed that testes and a portion of the ovaries of both diploid and triploid lung flukes reacted strongly to anti-Pw-VASA antibody.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 1986

To evaluate the immature eggs of Paragonimus westermani as a source of diagnostic antigen, about a million eggs which were excreted by 104 adult worms were collected; their saline extract(soluble egg antigen; PwSEA) was prepared. The specific IgG and IgM antibody levels were observed in experimental dog paragonimiasis by micro ESISA, using PwSEA as well as whole worm extract of 12 week-old P. westermani(PwWWE). The protein composition of the PwSEA was observed by disc-PAGE. The results could be summarized as follows: 1. Specific IgG antibody to PwSEA begant to increase on 8 weeks after the experimental infection; it maintained its high level until the observation period of 13 weeks. The levels of IgM antibody to PwSEA however, did not show any significant change. 2. Specific IgG antibody to PwWWE began to increase earlier from 2 weeks after the infection and continued to increase until the observation period of 13 weeks. Its level was much higher than that to PwSEA. Specific IgM antibody to PwWWE increased temporarily during 2-8 weeks after the infection. 3. By disc-PAGE, PwSEA showed 2 protein bands of very low motility. The bands of PwSEA corresponded to the frist and second bands in the electrophoretic pattern of PwWWE of the 12 week-old worms. The above results indicated that the PwSEA induced antibody production in dog paragonimiasis, but its antigenicity was weaker than PwWWE to be used as a diagnostic antigen.