Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) infectionsare well recognized and prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The role ofMycoplasma spp andUreaplasma spp arestill controversial as some are commensals of genitourinary tract. OBJECTIVES:To estimate the prevalence rate of 7 organisms: Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoea, Mycoplasma genitalium, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU)and Ureaplasma parvum (UP)in infertile married couples during infertility evaluation. MATERIALS & METHODS:A total of 274 samples from all of the 137 couples who attended the reproductive center from June to December 2014 were collected. Detection of the organisms was performed using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: STI-associatedorganisms were detected in 35.4% (97/274) of subjects. The prevalence rates of CT, MG, TV, UU, MHwere 7.3%,1.1%, 0.4%,5.4% and 5.1% respectively. Twenty-one (7.7%) subjects were positive for more than one organism. 24/274 (8.8%) of subjects had history of urogenital tract-related symptoms and 50% (12/24) were tested positive to one or more organisms. The presence of symptoms in both male and female subjects were found to be 10% (2/20) in CT infection, 10% (7/67) in UP, 14% (2/14) in MH and 13% (2/15) in UU infections. CONCLUSION: Sexually transmitted organisms were detected in one third of subjects planning for fertility evaluation. The absence of symptom in most subjects particularly in CT infection emphasizes the need for microbiological screening during infertility evaluation. The presence of genital ureaplasmas and mycoplasmas in infertile couples should not be neglected. There is a growing need to clarify whether their roles are simply colonizers or pathogens implicated in infertility.
Background: Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS) by Yardley et al. (1992) is one of the disease specific
questionnaires used widely in clinical settings. It is conducted in English and had been translated into six languages including Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. It has been acknowledged as a good subjective tool to determine the severity of balance disorders. Objective: To develop a valid Malay version of VSS (MVVSS) using appropriate translation methods and validation technique. Method: Forward and backward translation was performed by four professionals from different fields. The translated questionnaire was then assessed for its test reliability based on an experiment on 30 normal subjects. Further, to determine the cultural adaptation issues, the face validity of MVVSS was assessed from 32 normal subjects. They were asked to fill in the MVVSS questionnaire accordingly and give opinions regarding its language, understanding and overall format of questionnaire. Results: Final results of the translation process showed sufficient concurrence among the professionals involved. The reliability test among the normal subjects also showed a high Cronbach’s alpha value (0.90). The face validity method on 32 subjects (mean age of 29.9 ± 9.2 years) showed good feedbacks in terms of language, understanding and overall format of the MVVSS. Conclusion: The translation process was successful and the further validation showed an adequate face validity response. This suggests that our MVVSS has been culturally adapted and can be used in all Malay conversing patients.
Induction of c-fos in the spinal cord due to pain is well established. This study aims to look at the effects of acute swim stress on Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) induced by formalin and how it is modulated by ketamine and morphine. Acutely-stressed and non-stressed adult male Sprague Dawley rats were pretreated with intraperitoneal injection of ketamine 5 mg/kg (Ketava, Atlantic Lab), morphine 10 mg/kg (Rhotard, Custom Pharmaceutical), or saline, 5 minutes prior to experimentation. Rats were acutely stressed by swimming for 3 min in 20 degrees C water. Dilute formalin (Formaldehyde, Merck) was injected to the hindpaw and the formalin score recorded. Rats were then sacrificed and spinal cords (L4-L5) removed for immunohistochemical analysis of FLI. Two-way ANOVA showed significant effects of stress, drug and stress-drug interactions in formalin test and FLI. Both morphine and ketamine produced analgesia in the formalin test. In the saline stressed group, FLI was suppressed on the ipsilateral side (p<0.01) but increased on the contralateral side (p<0.01) compared with non-stressed saline. In morphine and ketamine stressed groups, FLI was increased on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides for morphine (ipsilateral: p<0.05; contralateral: p<0.001) and ketamine (ipsilateral: p<0.05, contralateral: p<0.05) compared with their corresponding non-stressed groups. In conclusion, presence of stress may lead to discrepancy between behavioural manifestation of pain and c-fos induction in the spinal cord.