MyMedR

Microwave-stimulated decalcification of compact bones

Ng KH, Ng LL

Eur J Morphol, 1992;30(2):150-5.

Medicinal plants used for treating female diseases in Malaysia--a review

Ling SK, Ng LT

Am J Chin Med, 1998;26(2):211-22.

PMID: 9799973 DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X98000269

A survey of plants used in Malaysia for treating female diseases was made by consulting books, journals and traditional healers. In this report on the survey, forty-four plants are described. Information on plant parts used, methods of preparation and administration, and other usages of plants are given for each species.

Uncontrolled hypertension, palpitation and sweating in young female - A rare cause

Sandeep HV, Sarat KS, Ng LT

Med J Malaysia, 2016 02;71(1):39-40.

PMID: 27130746

Extra-adrenal /retroperitoneal paraganglioma is a rare cause of hypertension in young with increased incidence of metastasis as compared to adrenal pheochromocytoma. We present a case of a young female with history of headache, nausea/vomiting, palpitations, uncontrolled hypertension, heat intolerance and diaphoresis. The 24-hour urine catecholamine levels were elevated. Clinical diagnosis of pheochromocytoma was made and further evaluation with Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the adrenals revealed extradrenal para-aortic retroperitoneal mass in keeping with paraganglioma. Gallium-68 DOTATE positron emission tomography-CT scan (PET-CT) confirmed the diagnosis without evidence of metastatic foci.

Autonomy for whom? A perspective from the Orient

Ng LF, Shumacher A, Goh CB

Palliat Med, 2000 Mar;14(2):163-4.

PMID: 10829153 DOI: 10.1191/026921600669696020

Fulltext Treatment delay in rectal cancer

Law CW, Roslani AC, Ng LL

Med J Malaysia, 2009 Jun;64(2):163-5.

PMID: 20058579 MyJurnal

Early diagnosis of rectal cancer is important for prompt treatment and better outcome. Little data exists for comparison or to set standards. The primary objective of this study is to identify factors resulting in delays in treatment of rectal cancer, the correlation between the disease stage and diagnosis waiting time, treatment waiting time and duration of symptoms. A five year retrospective audit was undertaken in University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC). There were 137 patients recruited and the median time to diagnosis was nine days after the first UMMC Surgical Unit consultation with a mean of 18.7 days. Some 11% had to wait more than four weeks for diagnosis. The median time from confirmation of diagnosis to surgery was 11 days with a mean of 18.6 days. Sixty-two percent of patients were operated upon within two weeks of diagnosis and more than 88% by four weeks. However, 10% of them had delayed surgery done four weeks after diagnosis. Long colonoscopy waiting time was the main cause for delay in diagnosis while delay in staging CTs were the main reason for treatment delays.

Oculogyric spasm in Asian psychiatric in-patients on maintenance medication

Tan CH, Chiang PC, Ng LL, Chee KT

Br J Psychiatry, 1994 Sep;165(3):381-3.

PMID: 7994510

BACKGROUND: The objective was to investigate the occurrence and characteristics of oculogyric spasm (OGS) in an Asian country.

METHOD: All 2035 Asian (88% Chinese, 7% Malays and 5% Indonesians) psychiatric in-patients in the state psychiatric hospital in Singapore were surveyed for occurrence of oculogyric spasm (OGS) over a two-month period.

RESULTS: Thirty-four patients (1.7%) developed OGS (53% male and 47% female). All the 34 patients had been on maintenance antipsychotic drugs for more than five months. Eighteen patients had recurrent attacks. The mean chlorpromazine equivalent daily dose for those patients with recurrent OGS was 511 mg. This was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the 277 mg daily dose received by those without recurrent OGS. Most (68%) of the attacks occurred between 1400-2000 h suggesting that OGS may have a diurnal variation.

CONCLUSIONS: OGS presenting as tardive dystonia may be due to a relative increase in cholinergic activity.

Fulltext Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty for critical aortic stenosis in a 3.9-kg infant in Sabah

Ng L, Siva R, Mohd Zain S, Ooi M

Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences, 2019;2(101):13-14.

MyJurnal

Critical aortic stenosis (AS) is very severe narrowing at aortic valve in newborns, causing left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO). It is lethal if not treated soon after birth.

Fulltext Microalbuminuria measurements by two in-house ELISA methods

Ng LC, Teng LC, Ng ML, Sazali BS, Khalid BA

Malays J Pathol, 2000 Dec;22(2):73-8.

PMID: 16329538

Detection of microalbuminuria is important in the management of diabetic patients since it is predictive of development of proteinuria and nephropathy. Two sensitive and specific in-house ELISAs for microalbuminuria were established and validated. One of the ELISAs was based on antigen coating while the other employed antibody coating. Recovery and linearity experiments gave acceptable results of 100 +/- 10%, while precision results were <10% for intra-assay and <12% for inter-assay coefficients of variation (CVs). The standard curve ranged from 10-625 ug/l, equivalent to 0.2-12.5 mg/l for urine samples diluted 1:20 fold. When the antibody coated ELISA was compared to antigen coated ELISA, a correlation of r=0.996 was obtained. When compared to commercial kits, the in-house ELISAs gave good correlations of r=0.961 versus the Boehringer Mannheim Micral Test strips and r=0.940 versus Ames Microalb Turbidimetry. The normal microalbumin reference ranges determined for 12h, first morning and random urine samples were 0.7-5.3 mg, 0.1-10.2 mg/l and 0.8-26.1 mg/l respectively. The normal albumin excretion rate (AER) was 1.0-7.3 ug/min while untimed urine samples gave results of 0.1-0.9 and 0.2-1.6 mg/mmol after dividing by creatinine concentrations. The ELISAs were used to detect microalbuminuria in 338 random urine samples from diabetic patients. A high percentage 47.9% was found to be positive for microalbuminuria and 18.0% had macroalbuminuria >25 mg/mmol. Thus screening for microalbuminuria together with creatinine measurements using random urine samples can be used for management of diabetic patients.

Psychogeriatrics in South-East Asia

Chiu HF, Ng LL, Nivataphand R, Yong KC, Lengkong Y, Buenaventura RD, et al.

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 1997 Oct;12(10):989-94.

PMID: 9395930

A common phenomenon in South-East Asia is ageing of the population. This article describes the various stages of development of psychogeriatrics in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is only in the last few years that more systematic development of psychogeriatric services has begun under the pressure of an ageing population. The model of service delivery in Hong Kong can serve as an example of development of psychogeriatric services in South-East Asia.

Clinical evaluation and serum concentration of zuclopenthixol acetate in psychotic Asian patients: a single-dose preliminary study

Tan CH, Low BL, Ng LL, Khoo YM, Lee HS

Ther Drug Monit, 1993 Apr;15(2):108-12.

PMID: 8099240

Nineteen acutely disturbed psychotic Asian patients were treated with a single intramuscular injection of 50 mg of zuclopenthixol acetate in Viscoleo. Patients were assessed clinically before and after treatment using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Serum zuclopenthixol and the inactive geometric isomer trans(E)-clopenthixol were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography after intramuscular injection. All patients improved, with the BPRS being significantly reduced (p < 0.001) at 72 h after injection. Adverse effects were generally few. The mean +/- SEM serum zuclopenthixol concentrations at 24, 48, and 72 h were 19.9 +/- 2.8, 31.5 +/- 4.5, and 17.8 +/- 2.9 micrograms/L, respectively. trans(E)-Clopenthixol concentrations ranged from negligible to 39.5 micrograms/L. This study confirms that a single intramuscular injection of 50 mg is adequate for managing severely disturbed psychotic patients for the first 3 days. The serum zuclopenthixol concentrations attained in the Asian patients were higher than those reported in Caucasian psychiatric patients. In some patients, a considerable amount of zuclopenthixol had been transformed to trans(E)-clopenthixol.

Fulltext Effect of gender and nutritional status on academic achievement and cognitive function among primary school children in a rural district in Malaysia

Hamid JJ, Amal MK, Hasmiza H, Pim CD, Ng LO, Wan MW

Malays J Nutr, 2011 Aug;17(2):189-200.

PMID: 22303573 MyJurnal

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gender, birth weight, nutritional status, and iron status of children with their academic performance and cognitive function.

The efficacy of intense pulse light among patients with skin type III-IV in acute facial acne: The Malaysian experience

Adibah HI, Chin SC, Ng LT, Simerdip K, Sarabdeep S, Saruveish M, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2021 05;76(3):369-374.

PMID: 34031336

INTRODUCTION: Twenty-seven adult patients, skin type III -V with mild to moderate acne, were recruited. IPL at wavelengths range of 420 - 600nm with triple pulses was administered every two weeks for a total of 3 sessions. Assessment of acne severity and improvement of treatment was based on Global Acne Grading System (GAGS), scoring before and after treatment for each session and patient satisfaction's using a 5-item Likert scale range at the end of session three.

RESULTS: Of the 27 patients, 77.8% were female. Their ages group ranged from 18 to 35 years, and all patients had skin type III or IV. There were 14 mild acne patients and 13 moderate ones. There was a statistically significant improvement in mean acne severity score from 18.1± 4.3 at baseline to 14.3 ± 4.6 after two weeks post-IPL and 12.3 ± 4.9 after four weeks post-IPL. The result on satisfaction level of patients showed 'satisfied' in 3 patients, "very satisfied" in 5 patients; and, half of the patients (11) answered "fair" at the end of the study. Most patients tolerated well the procedure, and only 5 patients developed either post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or skin hyperpigmentation.

CONCLUSION: The IPL of wavelength of 400-600nm offers effective, safe, and well-tolerated treatment of mild to moderate acne lesions in Malaysians with skin types III-IV. The majority of subjects had a fair score on treatment satisfaction. It is recommended that reasonable expectations for clinical results be addressed with patients before hands to prevent over-expectation.

Fulltext Low efficacy of delthamethrin-treated net against Singapore Aedes aegypti is associated with kdr-type resistance

Pang SC, Chiang LP, Tan CH, Vythilingam I, Lam-Phua SG, Ng LC

Trop Biomed, 2015 Mar;32(1):140-50.

PMID: 25801264 MyJurnal

There has been a worldwide surge in the number and severity of dengue in the past decades. In Singapore, relentless vector control efforts have been put in to control the disease since the 1960's. Space spraying, fogging, chemical treatment and source reduction are some commonly used methodologies for controlling its vectors, particularly Aedes aegypti. Here, as we explored the use of a commercially available delthamethrin-treated net as an alternative strategy and the efficacy of the treated net was found to be limited. Through bioassays and molecular studies, the failure of the treated net to render high mortality rate was found to be associated with the knockdown resistance (kdr) mutation. This is the first report of kdr- mutations in Singapore's Ae. aegypti. At least one point mutation, either homozygous or heterozygous, at amino acid residue V1016G of DIIS6 or F1269C of DIIIS6 was detected in 93% of field strains of Ae. aegypti. Various permutations of wild type and mutant amino acids of the four alleles were found to result in varying degree of survival rate among local field Ae. aegypti when exposed to the deltamethrin treated net. Together with the association of higher survival rate with the presence of both V1016G and F1269C, the data suggest the role of these mutations in the resistance to the deltamethrin. The high prevalence of these mutations were confirmed in a country wide survey where 70% and 72% of the 201 Ae. aegypti analysed possessed the mutations at residues 1016 and 1269 respectively. The highest mutated frequency combination was found to be heterozygous alleles (VG/FC) at both residues 1016 and 1269 (37.8%), followed by homozygous mutation at allele 1269 (24.4%) and homozygous mutation at allele 1016 (22.9%). The kdr- type of resistance among the vector is likely to undermine the effectiveness of pyrethroids treated materials against these mosquitoes.

Fulltext New mosquito species records (Diptera: Culicidae) from Singapore

Jeffery J, Lee RM, Tan SY, Liew C, Ng LC, Lam-Phua SG

Trop Biomed, 2010 Apr;27(1):138-42.

PMID: 20562825

Nine species of mosquitoes in eight genera are recorded for the first time in Singapore. An additional two species were overlooked in a 1986 checklist for mosquitoes in Singapore, and one was described after 1986. Location and habitat data are provided for the nine new records. With the inclusion of these new records the number of species reported from Singapore is 137.

Pathogenicity of an Indigenous Strain of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) (MET-GRA4 Strain) as a Potential Biological Control Agent Against the Red Palm Weevil (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)

Ishak I, Ng LC, Haris-Hussain M, Jalinas J, Idris AB, Azlina Z, et al.

J Econ Entomol, 2020 02 08;113(1):43-49.

PMID: 31586213 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toz233

Metarhizium anisopliae Metchnikoff (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) is a fungal pathogen that causes disease in various insect pests, and it can be exploited and developed as a biological control agent to combat the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae). The study on indigenous isolates is crucial especially for development of bioinsecticides in the future. The M. anisopliae strain called MET-GRA4 was tested for pathogenicity against adult red palm weevil and treated in vitro with different spore viabilities. The isolates exhibited pathogenicity with 100% mortality 21 d postinfection. The median lethal time (LT50) for 85% viable spores was 8.6 d, while 39% viable spores had an LT50 value of 21.37 d, with 92 and 16.6% mycosis, respectively. The species MET-GRA4 strain was molecularly characterized using ITS1 and ITS4 from pure culture (Isolate A), mass-produced spores (Isolate B), and infected red palm weevil cadavers (Isolate C). The DNA sequences obtained matched M. anisopliae sequences, with 99% similarity. This new isolate of M. anisopliae has potential as a targeted bioinsecticide for management of red palm weevil.

Fungus isolated from dermatomycoses: a 9-month prospective study at Hospital Melaka

Ng LC, Lee CS, Lim BB, Mohd Tap R, Tan XT, Tang MM

Med J Malaysia, 2023 May;78(3):364-371.

PMID: 37271847

INTRODUCTION: Dermatomycoses are common superficial cutaneous fungal infections which affect the skin, nails and human hairs. It affects 20 to 25% of the world population. The causative fungus varies geographically across the globe. Study on dermatomycoses is crucial to identify the aetiological fungus involved locally. The study aimed to determine the causative fungus of superficial fungal infections of the skin, nail and hair in patients presented to Hospital Melaka.

METHODS: This was a prospective study conducted from 15th January 2022 till 15th October 2022 at Dermatology Clinic, Hospital Melaka. Subjects with clinical dermatomycoses were included in this study. The samples were collected from skin, nails and hairs clinically affected by tinea corporis/cruris/pedis, onychomycosis and tinea capitis respectively. A potassium hydroxide (KOH) study was performed on the sample in which the fungal hyphae/yeast positive subjects were sent for fungal culture and fungal PCR test.

RESULT: A total of 222 clinical samples from skin, nails and hairs with a clinical suspicion of dermatomycoses yielded fungal hyphae/yeast in KOH. Majority of the samples were collected from skin (138, 62.2%), followed by nails (65, 29.3%) and hairs (19, 8.6%). Male to female ratio was 1.18: 1. The age ranged from 2 to 87 with the median of 55.5-yearsold. Out of 222 samples, 150 (67.6%) were fungal culture positive. From fungal culture positive samples, 87 samples were from tinea corporis, 50 samples were from onychomycoses and 13 samples were from tinea capitis. Trichophyton rubrum (39, 44.8%) was the commonest dermatophyte isolated in tinea corporis/cruris/pedis. Nondermatophyte moulds (NDM, 35, 70%) were the main fungi isolated in onychomycosis. Microsporum canis (7/53.8%) was the principal causative fungus among patients with tinea capitis. Among 150 fungal culture positive samples, 76 were fungal PCR positive. Only 38 samples consistently isolated same fungal species in both fungal culture and PCR test.

CONCLUSION: Majority of tinea corporis and tinea capitis fungal culture isolated dermatophytes, especially Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum canis, respectively. Non-dermatophyte moulds were mainly isolated in onychomycosis.

Seropositivity of HPV 16 E6 and E7 and the risk of oral cancer

Wong GR, Ha KO, Himratul-Aznita WH, Yang YH, Wan Mustafa WM, Yuen KM, et al.

Oral Dis, 2014 Nov;20(8):762-7.

PMID: 24320099 DOI: 10.1111/odi.12218

The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of HPV seropositivity among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and healthy individuals and to correlate the association between HPV 16 seropositivity and risk of OSCC.

Dysregulation of miR-31 and miR-375 expression is associated with clinical outcomes in oral carcinoma

Siow MY, Ng LP, Vincent-Chong VK, Jamaludin M, Abraham MT, Abdul Rahman ZA, et al.

Oral Dis, 2014 May;20(4):345-51.

PMID: 23651447 DOI: 10.1111/odi.12118

To identify differentially expressed miRNA between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and non-cancer (NC) and to associate these with clinico-pathological parameters.

Fulltext Nucleating and reinforcing effects of nanobiochar on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxhexanoate) bionanocomposites

Yee Foong Ng L, Ariffin H, Tengku Yasim-Anuar TA, Sakata M, Kawarada T, Yoshimura O, et al.

RSC Adv, 2024 Jul 05;14(30):21971-21981.

PMID: 39006768 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra08721b

This study promotes the use of nanobiochar (NBC) as an environmentally friendly substitute to conventional fillers to improve various properties of biopolymers such as their mechanical strength, thermal stability and crystallization properties. TGA analysis showed a slight increase in onset thermal degradation temperature of the composites by up to 5 °C with the addition of 4 wt% NBC. Non-isothermal DSC analysis determined that the addition of NBC into PHBHHx increases the crystallization temperature and degree of crystallinity of PHBHHx while isothermal DSC analysis demonstrated higher crystallization rate in PHBHHx/NBC composited by up to 54%. PHBHHx incorporated with NBC also exhibited superior tensile strength and modulus versus neat PHBHHx. Increase in mechanical strength was further proven via DMA where PHBHHx/NBC composites maintained higher storage modulus at higher temperatures when compared to neat PHBHHx. PHBHHx/NBC also exhibited no cytotoxicity effect against HaCat cells. This study demonstrates the ability of biochar to act as both nucleating agents and reinforcing agents in biodegradable polymers such as PHBHHx, which could be suitable for packaging application.

Establishing and managing a periodontal biobank for research: the sharing of experience

Vaithilingam RD, Safii SH, Baharuddin NA, Karen-Ng LP, Saub R, Ariffin F, et al.

Oral Dis, 2015 Jan;21(1):e62-9.

PMID: 24930489 DOI: 10.1111/odi.12267

Periodontal bio-repositories, which allow banking of clinically validated human data and biological samples, provide an opportunity to derive biomarkers for periodontal diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic activities which are expected to improve patient management. This article presents the establishing of the Malaysian Periodontal Database and Biobank System (MPDBS) which was initiated in 2011 with the aim to facilitate periodontal research. Partnerships were established with collaborating centres. Policies on specimen access, authorship and acknowledgement policies were agreed upon by all participating centres before the initiation of the periodontal biobank. Ethical approval for the collection of samples and data were obtained from institutional ethics review boards. A broad-based approach for informed consent was used, which covered areas related to quality of life impacts, genetics and molecular aspects of periodontal disease. Sample collection and processing was performed using a standardized protocol. Biobanking resources such as equipment and freezers were shared with the Malaysian Oral Cancer Database and Tissue Bank System (MOCDTBS). In the development of the MPDBS, challenges that were previously faced by the MOCDTBS were considered. Future challenges in terms of ethical and legal issues will be faced when international collaborations necessitate the transportation of specimens across borders.

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