OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate whether there are any notable etiologies for repeated biochemical pregnancy (RBP) and, if so, to compare those etiologies associated with repeated spontaneous abortion in infertile couples who have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: Forty-four infertile couples who underwent IVF and experienced RBP were included in this study. RBP was defined as more than 2 early pregnancy losses that occurred before the detection of a gestational sac, with ectopic pregnancies specifically excluded by serial serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin evaluation. Forty-three infertile couples who underwent IVF and experienced recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) were included as a control group. Karyotype analysis, anatomic evaluation of uterus, endocrine and immunological evaluation were performed. In addition, the number of pregnant women confirmed by 12 weeks' gestation was compared between groups. RESULTS: Immunological factors (RSA: 20.9% vs. RBP: 29.5%, P=0.361), diminished ovarian reserve (RSA: 10.9% vs. RBP: 17%, P=0.552), and parental chromosomal abnormalities (RSA: 18.6% vs. RBP: 9.1%, P=0.218) were not different between groups. Additionally, the incidence of uterine factors (RSA: 11.6% vs. RBP: 4.6%, P=0.206), unknown cause (RSA: 48.8% vs. RBP: 54.5%, P=0.161), and the pregnancy outcome identified until 12 weeks' gestation (RSA: 46.5% vs. RBP: 38.6%, P=0.520) did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: In the present study, the causes of RBP after IVF were similar to those of RSA. Accordingly, we suggest that efforts should be made to define the etiology of RBP, particularly for infertile couples, and that possible management strategies should be offered.
Abortion, Habitual ; Abortion, Spontaneous ; Biochemical Phenomena ; Chorionic Gonadotropin ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Family Characteristics* ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Gestational Sac ; Humans ; Immunologic Factors ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Incidence ; Karyotype ; Ovarian Reserve ; Parents ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Pregnant Women ; Uterus

Postmortem bacterial culture can be valuable for investigating deaths and determining the cause of death. However, there are many concerns regarding postmortem bacterial culture such as postmortem transmigration and agonal spread of bacteria. The two main methods for identification of the bacteria are biochemical and genetic methods. In Korea, the genetic method has been used for postmortem bacterial culture and identification in forensic medicine. However, there is a lack of consensus on the method to be used for postmortem bacterial culture and identification. Herein, we compared the genetic and biochemical methods of postmortem bacterial culture in autopsy practice. Both analyses were performed on the same samples. Bacteria were identified in 28 of the 34 cases (82.4%). Of the 74 comparable samples, only 28 (37.8%) showed consistent results by both methods. In addition, the biochemical method had a shorter reporting time and was more sensitive. In conclusion, we analyzed the causes of the inconsistency between the two methods and provided appropriate conditions and protocols for postmortem bacterial culture and identification.
Autopsy ; Bacteria ; Biochemical Processes ; Cause of Death ; Consensus ; Felodipine ; Forensic Medicine ; Genetic Processes ; Korea ; Methods*

Clinical imaging creates visual representations of the body interior for disease assessment. The role of clinical imaging significantly overlaps with that of pathology, and diagnostic workflows largely depend on both fields. The field of clinical imaging is presently undergoing a radical change through the emergence of a new field called molecular imaging. This new technology, which lies at the intersection between imaging and molecular biology, enables noninvasive visualization of biochemical processes at the molecular level within living bodies. Molecular imaging differs from traditional anatomical imaging in that biomarkers known as imaging probes are used to visualize target molecules-of-interest. This ability opens up exciting new possibilities for applications in oncologic, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Molecular imaging is expected to make major contributions to personalized medicine by allowing earlier diagnosis and predicting treatment response. The technique is also making a huge impact on pharmaceutical development by optimizing preclinical and clinical tests for new drug candidates. This review will describe the basic principles of molecular imaging and will briefly touch on three examples (from an immense list of new techniques) that may contribute to personalized medicine: receptor imaging, angiogenesis imaging, and apoptosis imaging.
Apoptosis ; Biochemical Processes ; Biomarkers ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Precision Medicine* ; Molecular Biology ; Molecular Imaging* ; Pathology

Metabolomics, a novel "omics" platform, is a powerful tool for the discovery of clinically useful biomarkers and biochemical processes to improve diagnosis and therapy. Through the use of advanced analytical technologies, metabolomics enables the assessment of comprehensive metabolic profiles that are affected by both genotype and environmental factors. Recently, attention has been focused on the concept of pharmacometabolomics, an emerging field that is derived from metabolomics. Pharmacometabolomics is focused on the use of individual metabolic signatures for the prediction and evaluation of drug efficacy and safety, eventually accelerating clinical pharmacology toward personalized drug therapy.
Biochemical Processes ; Biomarkers ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Genotype ; Humans ; Precision Medicine ; Metabolome ; Metabolomics ; Pharmacology, Clinical

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a most common male sexual dysfunction with complex pathogenesis. An increasing number of scholars agree that PE is a disorder associated with abnormal neurobiology, which involves the central neurotransmitter system, peripheral nerve function of the nerve tissue structure, and neurological biochemistry. This review focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms of PE, expecting to gain a deeper insight into the possible etiology, objective and reliable diagnostic methods, and individualized treatment of the disease.
Biochemical Phenomena ; Ejaculation ; Humans ; Male ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; physiology ; Peripheral Nervous System ; physiopathology ; Premature Ejaculation ; etiology

Subclinical Cushing syndrome (SCS) is a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis abnormality characterized by autonomous cortisol secretion in patients with no typical signs or symptoms of Cushing syndrome. SCS patients may have adverse metabolic and cardiovascular effects due to slight, but continuous glucocorticoid secretion. Glucocorticoids also affect behavior, mood, neural activity, and a number of specific biochemical processes in the central nervous system. Here, we report a case of SCS due to an adrenal incidentaloma in a hypertensive diabetic patient who presented with chronic fatigue and anxiety that disappeared after the removal of the adrenal adenoma.
Adenoma ; Adrenal Gland Neoplasms ; Anxiety ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Biochemical Processes ; Central Nervous System ; Cushing Syndrome ; Fatigue ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone

Biochemical Phenomena ; Exercise ; Humans ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; Massage ; methods ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Reproducibility of Results ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is an uncommon, life-threatening pharmacogenetic disorder of the skeletal muscle. It presents as a hypermetabolic response in susceptible individuals to potent volatile anesthetics with/without depolarizing muscle relaxants; in rare cases, to stress from exertion or heat stress. Susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia (MHS) is inherited as an autosomally dominant trait with variable expression and incomplete penetrance. It is known that the pathophysiology of MH is related to an uncontrolled rise of myoplasmic calcium, which activates biochemical processes resulting in hypermetabolism of the skeletal muscle. In most cases, defects in the ryanodine receptor are responsible for the functional changes of calcium regulation in MH, and more than 300 mutations have been identified in the RYR1 gene, located on chromosome 19q13.1. The classic signs of MH include increase of end-tidal carbon dioxide, tachycardia, skeletal muscle rigidity, tachycardia, hyperthermia and acidosis. Up to now, muscle contracture test is regarded as the gold standard for the diagnosis of MHS though molecular genetic test is used, on a limited basis so far to diagnose MHS. The mortality of MH is dramatically decreased from 70-80% to less than 5%, due to an introduction of dantrolene sodium for treatment of MH, early detection of MH episode using capnography, and the introduction of diagnostic testing for MHS. This review summarizes the clinically essential and important knowledge of MH, and presents new developments in the field.
Acidosis ; Anesthetics ; Biochemical Processes ; Calcium ; Capnography ; Carbon Dioxide ; Contracture ; Dantrolene ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Fever ; Hot Temperature ; Malignant Hyperthermia ; Molecular Biology ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Penetrance ; Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel ; Tachycardia

The effects of sodium arsenite exposure on the hepatic maturation period of cellular and functional reorganization in developing rat livers were evaluated. Animals received intraperitoneal injections of sodium arsenite (1.5 mg/kg body weight) or distilled water on days 9 to 28 after birth. On day 29, the animals were sacrificed either by cervical dislocation or by perfusion fixation. The perfusion fixed liver tissue was processed for paraffin embedding, sectioning and hematoxylin and eosin staining. The fresh liver tissue was processed for cryo-sectioning followed by Sudan Black B staining and for biochemical estimation of reduced glutathione. Microscopic observation revealed comparable preserved hepatic lobular patterns and distributions of uninucleate and binucleate hepatocytes in the control and the experimental groups. The mean nuclear area and diameter of the hepatocytes was increased in the experimental group. Lipid droplet distribution pattern in Sudan Black B stained sections revealed higher staining intensity towards the centrilobular area in both groups. Semiquantitative estimation of staining intensity showed lower mean gray values in zone 3 than in zones 2 and 1 (suggestive of the setting in of the adult pattern) in both groups. The reduced glutathione levels in the liver tissue and the altered nuclear size of the hepatocytes in the experimental group suggested the impairment of morphological and biochemical processes induced by arsenic exposure during the postnatal period.
Adult ; Animals ; Arsenic ; Arsenites ; Azo Compounds ; Biochemical Processes ; Dislocations ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Glutathione ; Hematoxylin ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Liver ; Paraffin Embedding ; Parturition ; Perfusion ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Sodium ; Sodium Compounds ; Sudan ; Water

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: When noise-induced hearing loss occurs, destruction of the hair cells is accompanied by mechanical injury, chemical injury, and hypoxia. Proteomics is a powerful tool for protein analysis, as it provides valuable information regarding the biochemical processes involved in diseases, monitors cellular processes, and characterizes protein expression levels. We attempted to identify the proteins associated with the pathophysiology of noise-induced hearing loss, as well as the mechanisms of this disease, using a proteomics approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used BALB/C male mice. The control mice were placed in a booth without noise, while the experimental mice were exposed to noise for three hours daily for three consecutive days. Cochleae from each group were obtained for total protein extraction. The proteins were separated into numerous spots using two-dimensional electrophoresis. Seven protein spots that were strongly detected only in the noise-exposed cochleae were selected and subsequently analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Approximately 286 protein spots were detected in the noise group. Seven selected spots were analyzed and various proteins identified, including tyrosine protein kinase MEG2, angiopoietin-like 1, heat shock 70 kDa protein, sodium dicarboxylate cotransporter 1, myeloid Elf-1-like factor, disintegrin, metalloproteinase domain 7, and activated leukocyte-cell adhesion molecule. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several proteins expressed in noise-induced hearing loss using a proteomics approach. These proteins may help us to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss.
Animals ; Anoxia ; Biochemical Processes ; Cochlea ; Electrophoresis ; Hair ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Noise ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Proteins ; Proteomics ; Sodium