• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권10호
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• pp.1484-1490
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• 2013

A lack of investigation in specific regions has impeded the understanding of epidemiological trends in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in South Korea. To help fill this research gap, this study used multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to determine the prevalence of STIs detected in clinical specimens collected from women in Cheonan, South Korea between August 2006 and November 2012, and analyzed the prevalence of STIs according to age, bacterial pathogen, and time period. Of the 1,618 specimens collected from 1,523 patients, 536 (35.2%) tested positive for at least 1 pathogen, with 407 (25.2%) testing positive for 1 pathogen, 103 (6.4%) for 2 pathogens, 20 (1.2%) for 3 pathogens, and 6 (0.4%) for 4 pathogens (n = 697 pathogens total). The median ages of all patients and of STI-positive patients were 37.8 and 33.3 years, respectively, and both decreased annually over the study period. Mycoplasma hominis (MH) was detected in 62.1% of the positive specimens, Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in 28.4%, Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in 23.1%, Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) in 7.8%, Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) in 6.5%, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in 2.1%. Whereas the prevalence of MH, MG, and TV infection did not vary greatly over the study period, that of UU decreased by one-fifth and that of both CT and NG increased 4-fold. The results indicate great variability in the rates of infection with each pathogen and a decreasing trend in overall STI prevalence, age of patients seeking STI testing, and age of STI-positive patients.

• 대한임상검사과학회지
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.74-81
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• 2016

Fluoroquinolone 계 항생제의 광범위한 사용으로 인해 이 약제에 대한 내성 Ureaplasma 종의 분리 비율이 높아지고 있다. Fluoroquinolone 계 항생제 내성은 주로 DNA gyrase와 topoisomerase IV 유전자의 돌연변이로 인해 발생하는 것으로 알려져 있다. DNA gyrase는 A와 B 2개의 소단위로 이루어져 있으며, gyrA와 gyrB 유전자에 의해 암호화되어 있고, Topoisomerase IV는 parC와 parE 유전자에 의해 암호화되어 있다. 본 연구가 진행된 서울의 1개 3차 병원에서 2012년부터 2013년까지 1년동안 Ureaplasma 종의 fluoroquinolone 계 항생제인 OFL과 CIP의 항생제검사 감수성 결과를 분석한 결과 내성과 중등도를 합산할 경우 66.08%, 92.69%로 매우 높은 내성 비율을 보였다. 이에 Ureaplasma 종을 OFL과 CIP에 대한 감수성을 기준으로 4개 그룹으로 분류하여 gyrA, gyrB, parC, parE 유전자의 돌연변이 여부를 검사하여 항생제 내성과의 관련성을 밝히고자 하였다. 그 중 parC 유전자의 돌연변이 빈도가 높아 topoisomerase IV의 돌연변이가 fluoroquinolone 계 약제에 대한 내성과 밀접한 관련이 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통해 GyrB의 Asn481Ser, ParC의 Phe149Leu, Asp150Met, Asp151Ile, Ser152Val, ParE의 Pro446Ser, Arg448Lys을 추가로 발견할 수 있었다. 최근 fluoroquinolone 계 항생제의 사용이 증가하고 있기 때문에 추후 Ureaplasma 종의 fluoroquinolone 계 항생제 내성에 대한 지속적인 모니터링이 필수적일 것으로 사료되며, 이와 관련한 유전자의 돌연변이 양상과의 상관관계를 분석하여 기존 배양검사의 단점을 보완할 수 있는 분자 진단학적 검사법의 추가적인 분석이 필요할 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.453-459
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• 2007

We developed a multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay to simultaneously detect Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Corynebacterium spp. and seudomona aeruginosa. This method employs a single tube and multiple specific primers which yield 200, 281, 346, 423, 542, and 1,427 bp PCR products, respectively. All the PCR products were easily detected by agarose gel electrophoresis and were sequenced to confirm the specificity of the reactions. To test this method, DNA extracted from urine samples was collected from 96 sexually transmitted disease or prostatitis patients at a local hospital clinical center, and were subjected to the mPCR assay. The resulting amplicons were cloned and sequenced to exactly match the sequences of known pathogenic isolates. N. gonorrhoeae and Corynebacterium spp. were the most frequently observed pathogens found in the STDs and prostatitis patients, respectively. Unexpectedly, P. aeruginosa was also detected in some of the STD and prostatitis samples. More than one pathogen species was found in 10% and 80.7% of STD and prostatitis samples, respectively, indicating that STD and prostatitis patients may have other undiagnosed and associates. The sensitivity of the assay was determined by sing purified DNA from six pathogenic laboratory strains and revealed that this technique could detect pathogenic DNA at concentrations ranging from 0.018 to $1.899\;pg/{\mu}l$. Moreover, the specificities of this assay were found to be highly efficient. Thus, this mPCR assay may be useful for the rapid diagnosis of causative infectious STDs and prostatitis. useful for the infectious STDs and prostatitis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.311-318
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• 1996

Mycoplasmas have long been suspected of contributing to involuntary infertility in couples. However considerable disagreement exits concerning the role of genital mycoplasma infection in human infertility. Several investigators have noted abnormalities in the semen analysis of men with positive mycoplasma cultures, and early epidemiologic studies indicated that Ureaplasma urealyticum was linked to human reproductive failure on the basis of higher frequencies of isolation from infertile versus fertile couples and successful pregnancies in infertile couples after doxycycline therapy. However, subsequent investigators have questioned these findings because there are many studies in which treatment for mycoplasma in the male or female did not demonstrate an improved pregnancy rate, and semen samples from unexplained infertile men containing ureaplasmas have not revealed poorer motility, fewer spermatozoa and more aberrant forms. The objective of this study were to investigate the incidence rate of mycoplasma in semen and to investigate whether the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes significant difference to the semen volume, sperm motility and sperm counts. The results were that the rate of isolation of mycoplasma species was 70.3%. Semen volume is $2.84{\pm}1.01ml$ for culture negative and $3.15{\pm}1.42ml$ for culture positive group. Sperm motility is $46.23{\pm}15.80%$ for culture negative and $50.09{\pm}15.69%$ for culture positive group, and sperm count is $95.47{\pm}47.14({\times}(P)10^6/ml)$ for culture negative and $86.73{\pm}47.59({\times}10^6/ml)$ for culture positive group. In conclusion, we suggest that the presence of mycoplasma in semen makes no significant differences to the sperm parameters.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.75-80
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• 2016

This study explored epidemiological trends in trichomoniasis in Daegu, South Korea. Wet mount microscopy, PCR, and multiplex PCR were used to test for Trichomonas vaginalis in vaginal swab samples obtained from 621 women visiting 2 clinics in Daegu. Of the 621 women tested, microscopy detected T. vaginalis in 4 (0.6%) patients, PCR detected T. vaginalis in 19 (3.0%) patients, and multiplex PCR detected T. vaginalis in 12 (1.9%) patients. Testing via PCR demonstrated high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for T. vaginalis. Among the 19 women who tested positive for T. vaginalis according to PCR, 94.7% (18/19) reported vaginal signs and symptoms. Notably, more than 50% of T. vaginalis infections occurred in females younger than 30 years old, and 58% were unmarried. Multiplex PCR, which simultaneously detects pathogens from various sexually transmitted infections, revealed that 91.7% (11/12) of patients were infected with 2 or more pathogens. Mycoplasma hominis was the most prevalent co-infection pathogen with T. vaginalis, followed by Ureaplasma urealyticum and Chlamydia trachomatis. Our results indicate that PCR and multiplex PCR are the most sensitive tools for T. vaginalis diagnosis, rather than microscopy which has been routinely used to detect T. vaginalis infections in South Korea. Therefore, clinicians should take note of the high prevalence of T. vaginalis infections among adolescent and young women in order to prevent persistent infection and transmission of this disease.

• 대한한방부인과학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.21-29
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• 2015

Objectives This study aimed to investigate therapeutic effect of Korean Medicine Steam Therapy (KMST) for leukorrhea patients. Methods From December 1st 2013 to Nov 31st 2014, 16 leukorrhea outpatients treated with KMST filled out questionnaire before and after treatments. The questionnaire was composed of 8 question items such as sleep, appetite & digestion, urination, defecation, emotion, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain, leukorrhea and patients were told to evaluate their symptoms as NRS score. We analyzed mean NRS score of each question item before and after KMST by using Wilcoxon's signed rank test of SPSS ver. 19. Results Mean age of participants was 40.8±13.0 years and mean value of treatment numbers per person was 3.8±1.8 times. 43.75% (n=7) of the patients had history of vaginitis caused by gardnella vaginalis, ureaplasma urealyticum or candida albicans. All patients were treated with acupuncture, moxibustion and Korean medicine. In addition, there was no side effect reported by participants. NRS score of quantity, odor of leukorrhea, perineal unpleasant sensation such as itching, dryness, burning sensation remarkably decreased (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.01 each). NRS score of symptoms including sleep, urination, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain also remarkably decreased (p<0.05). Conclusions Symptoms of leukorrhea patients including sleep, urination, cold hypersensitivity, menstrual pain, leukorrhea showed significant decrease after treated with concurrent KMST.