Publications by authors named "Jung Hyun Byun"

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) is an emerging pathogen leading to public health concerns in developing and developed countries, particularly among immunocompromised individuals and patients with structural lung diseases. Current clinical guidelines recommend combination antibiotic therapy for treating MAC pulmonary disease (MAC-PD). However, the rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance poses significant challenges, including treatment failure and clinical recurrence.

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  • ESBL-producing E. coli is a serious concern for extraintestinal infections due to its high antibiotic resistance, with a study done on isolates from urine and blood samples at three South Korean hospitals.
  • The research found that CTX-M and TEM are the most common ESBL types present in a majority of isolates, and identified multiple high-risk E. coli clones linked to severe infections.
  • The results also showed a significant presence of virulence factors in these strains, underlining the challenges they pose, especially for vulnerable populations, and emphasizing the need for improved infection control measures.
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  • * Researchers analyzed bacterial samples from patients over 17 years using genetic methods to determine the strains' diversity and virulence.
  • * The findings revealed that the strains from refractory cases were mostly of sequence type 235 (ST235), which is highly virulent and resistant to antibiotics, suggesting the need for better management and patient education.
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Background: Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), including Mycobacterium intracellulare is a member of slow-growing mycobacteria and contributes to a substantial proportion of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease in humans affecting immunocompromised and elderly populations. Adaptation of pathogens in hostile environments is crucial in establishing infection and persistence within the host. However, the sophisticated cellular and molecular mechanisms of stress response in M.

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Endonucleases have recently widely used in molecular diagnostics. Here, we report a strategy to exploit the properties of Argonaute (Ago) proteins for molecular diagnostics by introducing an artificial nucleic acid circuit with Ago protein (ANCA) method. The ANCA is designed to perform a continuous autocatalytic reaction through cross-catalytic cleavage of the Ago protein, enabling one-step, amplification-free, and isothermal DNA detection.

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An obligate anaerobic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped and non-spore-forming bacterium, designated as strain GYB001, was isolated from the blood of a patient with a sigmoid colon perforation. Taxonomic characterization of the novel isolate was performed using a polyphasic approach. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and whole genome sequences revealed that GYB001 represented a member of the genus , in the family .

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  • * Out of 30 patients, all had at least one genetic mutation, particularly in genes like TET2, FLT3, and RUNX1, which were linked to various clinical factors such as age and blood cell counts.
  • * The research found that certain mutations were associated with treatment outcomes, indicating that a larger NGS study could help clarify their prognostic value in AML.
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Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a rare, but almost always fatal, central nervous system infection caused by , which are thermophilic free-living amoeba. Here, we report the first case of PAM detected in South Korea, probably imported from Thailand. Despite antimicrobial treatment for infection with a combination of intravenous liposomal amphotericin B, fluconazole, azithromycin, and oral rifampin, the patient died 13 days after the onset of symptoms.

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  • Researchers discovered two new forms (sinking and floating) of Candida parapsilosis in bloodstream infections from Korean hospitals, with distinct microbiological and clinical traits.
  • The sinking phenotype is noted for its small, button-like appearance in lab tests, while the floating phenotype has dispersed cells, showing differences in antifungal resistance and genetic profiles.
  • The study found that Y132F-sinking isolates are increasingly common and associated with higher risks of severe infections, revealing important implications for treatment and understanding of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infections.
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Repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) is a potential epidemiological technique that can provide high-throughput genotype fingerprints of heterogeneous strains rapidly. Previously published rep-PCR primers, which are based on nucleotide sequences of Gram-negative bacteria may have low specificity for mycobacteria. Moreover, it was difficult to ensure the continuity of the study after the commercial rep-PCR kit was discontinued.

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Anti-dementia medications are widely prescribed to patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD) in South Korea. This study investigated the pattern of medical management in newly diagnosed patients with AD using a standardized data format-the Observational Medical Outcome Partnership Common Data Model from five hospitals. We examined the anti-dementia treatment patterns from datasets that comprise > 5 million patients during 2009-2019.

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  • - The study investigated the rate of toxigenic C. difficile infections (CDI) in children aged 0 to 18 years, finding a positive rate of 10.1% in stool samples, with the highest incidence in infants around 1 year old.
  • - Interestingly, no C. difficile was found in neonates, and an inverse relationship was noted between antibiotic usage and CDI positivity, especially in younger children.
  • - While CDI is not a major cause of diarrhea in children, the study highlights that they can still be carriers, potentially spreading the infection to adults at higher risk.
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Single nucleotide substitution in codon 140 of HLA-B*40:02:01:01 results in the novel HLA-B*40:489 allele.

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Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are widely present in environments, such as soil and water, and have recently been recognized as important pathogenic bacteria. The incidence of NTM-related infections is steadily increasing. As the diagnosis and treatment of NTM infection should be distinguished from tuberculosis, and the treatment should be specific to the species of NTM acquired, accurate species identification is required.

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The roles of individual bacteria and their relationship in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CRC-associated bacteria using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) or 16S rRNA analysis and the statistical correlations of patient demographics and clinical characteristics comprising alcohol consumption with CRC-associated bacteria. We determined the prevalence of five CRC-associated bacterial species in 38 CRC patients (39 samples) and 21 normal individuals using qPCR, and the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in the gut microbiome was assessed using 16S rRNA analysis.

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This study investigates GT-1 (also known as LCB10-0200), a novel-siderophore cephalosporin, inhibited multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogen, via a Trojan horse strategy exploiting iron-uptake systems. We investigated GT-1 activity and the role of siderophore uptake systems, and the combination of GT-1 and a non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) of diazabicyclooctane, GT-055, (also referred to as LCB18-055) against molecularly characterised resistant , and spp. isolates.

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  • Colistin is a crucial last-resort antibiotic for treating multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, but traditional susceptibility testing methods may not be reliable due to the antibiotic's large size.
  • This study modified Muller-Hinton agar by reducing its concentration and adding protamine, resulting in improved diffusion of colistin for more accurate testing.
  • The new method demonstrated high performance, with 94.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity, making it a promising option for clinical microbiology labs, though care is advised in its application.
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Background: As the spread of carbapenemase-producing poses a critical threat to public health, rapid detection of carbapenemase genes is urgently required for prompt initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy and infection control. We evaluated the performance of Xpert Carba-R v.2 (Cepheid, USA) compared with that of culture-based conventional PCR.

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Introduction: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been introduced for bacterial identification. The ASTA MicroIDSys system (ASTA, Suwon, Korea) is a new MALDI-TOF MS system developed for species identification of microorganisms. We evaluated the performance of MicroIDSys against clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria.

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Detecting carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) has become increasingly difficult due to the emergence of diverse enzymes. The aim of the study was to evaluate an agar plate-based modified carbapenem inactivation method (p-mCIM) for detection of CPE. Stock strains and clinical isolates of CPE were used to evaluate the p-mCIM.

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