Jae Joon Yim

Treatment outcomes of macrolide-containing regimens are relatively poor in terms of both the treatment success and default rates. The default rate could be reduced if a thrice-weekly dosing schedule is available. Clinicians should be aware of decreased auditory function as the most common adverse event associated with macrolide-containing regimens.

The presence of extensive drug resistance, the presence of comorbidity, and hypoalbuminemia were independent poor prognostic factors in non-HIV-infected patients with MDR-TB.

BACKGROUND: Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use could decrease local immunity of the lung. Concerns have been raised regarding the risk of tuberculosis (TB) development among ICS users. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association between ICS use and development of TB among patients with various respiratory diseases in South Korea, an intermediate-TB-burden country. METHODS: A nested case-control study based on the Korean national claims database was performed. The eligible cohort consist

GTP cyclohydrolase I, an enzyme that catalyzes the first reaction in the pathway for the biosynthesis of the pteridine portion of folic acid, was purified from Escherichia coli by 3,900-fold to apparent homogeneity. Its molecular weight is estimated at 210,000. At relatively high concentrations of salt (e.g. 0.3 M KCl) the enzyme can be dissociated into seemingly identical subunits of 51,000 molecular weight. Removal of the salt allows reassociation. GTP, ATP, and inorganic orthophosphate at con

The importance of host genetic factors in determining susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) has been studied extensively using various methods, such as case-control, candidate gene and genome-wide linkage studies. Several important candidate genes like human leucocyte antigen/alleles and non-human leucocyte antigen genes, such as cytokines and their receptors, chemokines and their receptors, pattern recognition receptors (including toll-like receptors, mannose binding lectin and the dendritic cell

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium abscessus and Mycobacterium massiliense are grouped as the Mycobacterium abscessus complex. The aim of this study was to elucidate the differences between M. abscessus and M. massiliense lung diseases in terms of progression rate, treatment outcome, and the predictors thereof. METHODS: Between 1 January 2006 and 30 June 2015, 56 patients and 54 patients were diagnosed with M. abscessus and M. massiliense lung diseases, respectively. The time to progression requiring tre

BACKGROUND: Although smoking is the major causal factor in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), only 10-20% of chronic heavy cigarette smokers develop symptomatic COPD which suggests the presence of genetic susceptibility. This genetic susceptibility to COPD might depend on variations in enzyme activities that detoxify cigarette smoke products such as microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEPHX) and glutathione-S transferase (GST). As there is increasing evidence that several

Abstract Rationale Because the prognosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease varies, a scoring system predicting mortality is needed. Objectives We aimed to develop a novel scoring system to predict mortality among patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease. Methods We included patients age ≥20 years with newly diagnosed nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, with Mycobacterium avium, M. intracellulare, M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, or M. abscessus subsp

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to both isoniazid and rifampicin with or without resistance to other drugs is among the most worrisome elements of the pandemic of antibiotic resistance. Globally, about three per cent of all newly diagnosed patients have MDR-TB. The proportion is higher in patients who have previously received antituberculosis treatment reflecting the failure of programmes designed to ensure complete cure of patients with t

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The effective control of tuberculosis (TB) requires that people at high risk for the reactivation of TB are identified. Haematological malignancy has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of TB, either through immune suppression by the tumour or through the effects of chemotherapy. This study assessed the hypothesis that solid-organ malignancy is a risk factor for the development of TB. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the in

The proper interval for repeating an interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) among tuberculosis contacts with initially negative results is unknown. The interval for IGRA conversion after exposure to patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis in an outbreak setting was evaluated. In a platoon of 32 soldiers, four active pulmonary tuberculosis patients, in addition to one index patient, were diagnosed during a contact investigation. For the other 27 contacts, a tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFER