MyMedR

The clinical assessment of chest pain

Lim KJ

Family Practitioner, 1983;6(2):11-14.

Research in clinical medicine

Lim KJ

Med J Malaya, 1969 Dec;24(2):83-4.

PMID: 4244147

Molecular factors in human implantation: adhesion molecules, proteases and cytokines

Lim KJ

Malays J Pathol, 2003 Jun;25(1):1-13.

PMID: 16196373

Successful human reproduction remains an enigma, but this is slowly changing in the current era of expanding scientific knowledge. The discovery of various molecular factors such as adhesion molecules, proteases and cytokines have in recent years been at the forefront of medical research. The growing importance of immunology in particular has led to novel new immuno-modulatory therapies and increasing research into this new aspect of reproductive immunology may well prove to be the most important breakthrough in understanding the fundamentals of human reproduction. Implantation represents the first step in the complex interactions and processes involved in foetal-maternal interaction, which continues throughout pregnancy gestation and culminates in the birth of an infant. It is therefore vital that we understand the myriad processes controlling implantation in order to build a firm foundation for exploring reproductive immunology research in the new millennium. This review brings together and presents an overview of the potential roles of currently known molecular factors such as adhesion molecules, proteases, cytokines and its interaction with the maternal immune response, incorporating the findings of previous published research performed by the author on cytokines and reproductive immunology.

Fulltext Sea-snake bite; a survey of fishing villages in northwest Malaya

REID HA, LIM KJ

Br Med J, 1957 Nov 30;2(5056):1266-72.

PMID: 13479694

An immunohistochemical and morphological study of amyloidosis complicating leprosy in Malaysian patients

Looi LM, Jayalakshim P, Lim KJ, Rajagopalan K

Ann Acad Med Singap, 1988 Oct;17(4):573-8.

PMID: 3223746

Congo red screening of tissue blocks from 37 consecutive autopsies on leprosy patients revealed 7 cases of systemic amyloidosis, indicating a prevalence rate of 19%. 5 were males and 2 females. All were ethnic Chinese. Their ages ranged from 52 to 85 years with a mean of 69 years. Six had lepromatous leprosy while the remaining 1 had tuberculoid leprosy. In all 7 cases, the amyloid was AA in type, being permanganate-sensitive and immunoreactive with anti-human AA protein antiserum. Hepatic deposition was limited to blood vessels, a pattern typical of AA (secondary) amyloidosis. With regard to renal involvement, 4 showed a predominantly vascular pattern of infiltration while 3 exhibited the more ominous glomerular pattern. Three died of chronic renal failure and 2 of congestive cardiac failure attributable to renal and cardiac amyloidosis respectively. One patient succumbed to septicaemia and the remaining 1 to acute myocardial infarction. AA amyloidosis remains a serious and significant complication of leprosy among Malaysians.

Fulltext Autopsy findings in 35 cases of leprosy in Malaysia

Jayalakshmi P, Looi LM, Lim KJ, Rajogopalan K

Int. J. Lepr. Other Mycobact. Dis., 1987 Sep;55(3):510-4.

PMID: 3655465

The findings of autopsies performed on 35 leprosy subjects in the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, between January 1981 and December 1985 are presented. This is the first report based on autopsy findings from Malaysia. The patients were elderly subjects with a mean age of 74 years. Sixty-six percent had lepromatous leprosy. None had active skin lesions. The most common cause of death was pyogenic infection, particularly bronchopneumonia. Tuberculosis was noted in 25% of the cases. The other important causes of death included cardiac and renal failure. Renal lesions were evident in 71% of the cases, and the most common pathology was interstitial nephritis. Generalized amyloidosis complicated six (17%) patients.

Male fetuses are associated with increased risk for cesarean delivery in Malaysian nulliparae

Viegas OA, Lee PS, Lim KJ, Ravichandran J

Medscape J Med, 2008;10(12):276.

PMID: 19242582

The association between fetal sex and outcome of pregnancy and labor has been well documented in western populations. However, no studies in Malaysia or other developing countries have examined the effect of fetal sex on such outcomes.The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of fetal sex on the outcome of labor at term in a cohort of Malaysian nulliparae.A retrospective observational study was designed using data from 4644 Malaysian nulliparae who gave birth consecutively to singleton male babies at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru, after normal full-term pregnancies.The results of this study indicate that mothers giving birth to male infants have a greater risk of requiring cesarean delivery because male babies are heavier and have statistically significantly greater head circumference (P < .001). These findings concur with those obtained in western populations and suggest that the differences in outcome observed are biological, not dictated by race, ethnicity, or environmental conditions. Such information could help in the antenatal assessment of Malaysian patients and stimulate more comprehensive studies of the mechanisms involved in this sex-based difference in outcomes. Reasons for such differences are proposed.

Scrub typhus: a common cause of illness in indigenous populations

Brown GW, Robinson DM, Huxsoll DL, Ng TS, Lim KJ

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1976;70(5-6):444-8.

PMID: 402722

An explanation was sought for the disparity between the low reported incidence of scrub typhus and the high prevalence of antibody to Rickettsia tsutsugamushi in the rural population of Malaysia. A combination of isolation of the organism, titration of antibody by indirect immunofluorescence, and the Weil-Felix test was used to confirm infections. Scrub typhus was found to be very common, causing 23% of all febrile illnesses at one hospital. The infection was particularly prevalent in oil-palm workers, causing an estimated 400 cases annually in a population of 10,000 people living on one plantation. The clinical syndrome, whether mild or severe, was difficult to distinguish from that due to other infections. Eschars, rashes and adenopathy were uncommon. When used to examine early sera, the Weil-Felix test failed to confirm the diagnosis in most infections.20

Leptospirosis in Malaysia: a common cause of short-term fever

Brown GW, Lee CK, Huxsoll DL, Ng TS, Lim KJ, Wan HS, et al.

Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 1976 Sep;7(3):380-3.

PMID: 1030842

A study of 1,437 unselected febrile patients in rural Malaysia yielded a diagnosis of leptospirosis in 86 (6.0%). The clinical syndrome was mild to moderate in all cases, jaundice was observed in only 2 (2.3%) and no deaths were documented. The diagnosis was not clinically obvious in most cases, and it is apparent that many infections must be going unnoticed at present.

Factors Influencing Attitude Toward Organ and Tissue Donation Among Patients in Primary Clinic, Sabah, Malaysia

Lim KJ, Cheng TTJ, Jeffree MS, Hayati F, Cheah PK, Nee KO, et al.

Transplant Proc, 2020 Apr;52(3):680-686.

PMID: 32146022 DOI: 10.1016/j.transproceed.2020.01.007

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, the gap between organ supply and demand has widened over the years. Malaysia has one of the lowest deceased organ donation rates. Success rate of organ or tissue procurement depends on not only the approach rate by health care providers but also the awareness among the public, whereby it can be a platform for family initiation of organ donation. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge of and determine the factors influencing attitude toward organ and tissue donation among patients in a primary clinic.

METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out. Self-administered questionnaires were given to 400 patients who registered at an outpatient clinic in April 2018. Convenience sampling was applied.

RESULTS: Monthly income, education level, occupation, and knowledge level are significantly associated with attitude of the respondents toward organ and tissue donation. Occupation influenced attitude toward organ donation. Knowledge of organ donation and brain death both significantly affected attitude toward organ donation.

CONCLUSION: The greater the knowledge of organ donation and brain death, the more positive impression or attitude toward organ donation. Education level and income are the main predictors that influence attitude toward organ donation. Hence, it is important for public health units to promote and deliver public education on organ donation, change public misconceptions, and work parallel with hospitals to increase organ donation rates in Sabah.

Fulltext BRCA Testing in Asian Patients with Ovarian Cancer: Standard Clinical Practice or Mutation Prediction Model?

Ang BH, Yoon SY, Lim J, Hassan NT, Tai MC, Wong ZL, et al.

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2026 Jul 01;35(7):1129-1138.

PMID: 42013351 DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-25-2008

BACKGROUND: Germline BRCA1/2 testing is recommended for all patients with ovarian cancer, as identifying pathogenic variants (PV) informs treatment and enables family cascade testing. However, in resource-limited settings, high testing costs often limit feasibility. An alternative approach is to use predictive models to prioritize patients at risk, optimizing resource allocation. Existing models are largely Western-derived; in Asian populations, models exist for breast cancer-not ovarian cancer.

METHODS: Using data from a multicenter study of 1,126 Asian patients with ovarian cancer (including 147 BRCA PV carriers), we developed models incorporating cancer history, clinicopathologic features, and reproductive factors to estimate the likelihood of carrying PVs. We assessed discrimination, calibration, and accuracy and compared genetic testing costs with a universal testing strategy.

RESULTS: Our final model demonstrated good calibration and strong discriminatory power, with an area under the curve of 0.80 (95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.87). Factors included in the model were age at diagnosis, ethnicity, personal and family cancer history, and clinicopathologic features. The model had 77% accuracy at the optimal threshold for testing compared with 13% accuracy with universal testing, reducing genetic testing costs from ∼USD4,371 to ∼USD1,974 per identified carrier. Notably, while maintaining 100% sensitivity, the model reduced testing by 15%, yielding potential savings of ∼USD68,182 per 800 patients each year.

CONCLUSIONS: Targeted testing using a prediction model potentially offers a more efficient and scalable alternative when universal testing is not feasible, optimizing impact in resource-limited settings.

IMPACT: This work supports more affordable and equitable BRCA testing pathways for Asian patients with ovarian cancer.

Displaying all 11 publications