Studies to confirm the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma (CP) as an adjunctive treatment for COVID-19 are still required especially for the countries where standard treatments are unevenly distributed. A non-randomized comparative study was done from June – September 2020 in Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Plasma with anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG titer of >1:320 were used. Primary end points were clinical and laboratory parameters outcome including BGA, chest X-ray, CT value, CRP, procalcitonin, IL-6, D-Dimer and ALC examined on day 1, 2 and 7 post-transfusion. The experimental arm of this study consisted of 15 patients who received CP: 3 (20%) with moderate COVID-19 and 12 (80%) with severe COVID-19. There were 15 historical controls in this study. Ten recipients survived and 5 deceased (survival rate was 66.7%). There were higher rate of pneumonia resolution (OR 1.54, CI95% 0.33–7.23), ARDS resolution (OR 1.20, CI95% 0.25–5.84) and shorter median length of stay (20 vs 22 days, p = 0.41) among recipients compared to controls. Lower mortality rate was observed in recipients vs controls (33.3% vs 46.7% (OR 0.75, CI95% 0.17–3.33)). Median death onset was longer in recipient vs control (7^th vs 1^st day, p = 0.13). Survival analysis showed protective effect of CP (HR 0.69, CI 95% 0.21–2.27, p = 0.545). Higher CT value improvement (p = 0.51) and negative conversion rate (OR1.20, CI95% 0.25–5.84) were observed in recipients compared to controls. Sub-analysis showed more number of comorbidities, higher procalcitonin and higher D-Dimer among CP recipients who did not survive (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02 respectively). Lower CRP and procalcitonin, and higher ALC were found in survivors compared to non-survivors (p = 0.0437; p = 0.0049; and p = 0.0002 respectively). This study showed promising results for CP marked by improvements in clinical outcome, as well as significant reduction of inflammatory markers among recipients.

Dengue infection is one of the infectious diseases which become a health problem in the world. Platelets play an important role in the pathogenesis of dengue. The quantity of platelet related to dengue were often discussed but the quality of platelet related to dengue infection were rarely discussed. The activation of platelets can be observe indirectly through changes in MPV. Aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence ratio of MPV enhancement in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) compared to dengue fever (DF). This study is an observational analytical study with a cross-sectional design to analyze the prevalence ratio of enhancement MPV in DHF compared to DF. The subjects were dengue suspected patients that hospitalized in Dr. Sardjito General Hospital and PKU Muhammadiyah Hospital Yogyakarta who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Venous blood were collected into 2 mL EDTA tube for automatical hematology analysis. Chi-square was used to analyze different proportions of MPV enhancement between DHF and DF groups. One hundred subjects were participated in this study and classified into DF and DHF based on WHO 2011 criteria. Prevalence ratio of MPV enhancement ≥ 9.7 fL was 4.8 (95% CI 2.8-37.0), p < 0.0001. The result indicates that MPV enhancement was a risk factor of worsening dengue infection.

The purpose of this study is to know whether there are differences between hematology profile and morphology of erythrocytes of blood specimens which are prepared with excessive Na2EDTA anticoagulant in different concentration. This study was conducted in Faculty of Medicine Gadjah Mada University. The criteria of subject were male, age from 18 until 22 years old and healthy, ascertained from history taking and vital sign examination. Blood samples from 33 subjects were taken using vein puncture. Two millimeters blood was divided into 4 Na2EDTA-containing tubes. Before that, one drop of blood without Na2EDTA anticoagulant was used for making control blood film right after vein puncture. Each tubes contained different concentration of anticoagulant. The first tube contained Na2EDTA in standard concentration 2 mg/dl; the remaining tubes contained consecutively, 4 mg/dl, 6 mg/dl, and 8 mg/dl. Those samples were immediately examined using SYSMEX SE-9500 automatic analyzer for measuring erythrocytes hematological profile and were stained with Wright staining for morphological examination. These procedures were done before 20 minutes of vein puncture. There were significant decrease of RBC count, HGB, HCT, and MCHC and also significant increase of MCV and RDW between different concentrations of excessive Na2EDTA anticoagulant. MCH did not have significant result. Morphological examination showed significant morphological changes in the form of echinocytes and appearance of ghost cells in the sample treated with excessive Na2EDTA anticoagulant concentration. In conclusion, there are differences in hematological profile and morphology of erythrocytes among blood specimen which are prepared with excessive Na2EDTA anticoagulant in different concentration, except for MCH. Excessive Na2EDTA anticoagulant concentration will affect the blood specimen for peripheral blood examination of erythrocytes by interfering morphology and some of hematological parameters. (Med J Indones 2006; 15:157-64) Keywords: Na2EDTA, erythrocytes, hematology parameters, echinocytes, ghost cells

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder characterized by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, leading to severe health complications, increased mortality, and substantial socioeconomic burdens. Despite therapeutic advancements, effective pharmacological interventions remain limited, necessitating alternative approaches for drug discovery. This study aimed to identify potential therapeutic targets for insomnia by integrating gene network analysis, genomic data, and bioinformatics-driven drug repurposing strategies, aligning with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Well-being. Insomnia-associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) were retrieved from the GWAS catalog, yielding 3,952 loci. Insomnia risk genes were identified by linking these loci to proximal SNPs (r² ≥ 0.8) in Asian populations using HaploReg v4.2, resulting in 1,765 candidate genes. A bioinformatics pipeline incorporating ten functional annotations and drug-gene interaction was employed to prioritize gene targets and identify novel repurposed drugs with potential biological relevance to insomnia. Drug-Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb) analysis identified seven druggable targets among 27 biologically significant insomnia risk genes, corresponding to 12 existing drugs. Notably, NRXN1 emerged as a highly promising target due to its strong functional annotation score and its known interaction with Duloxetine hydrochloride and nicotine polacrilex. This study underscores the potential of bioinformatics-driven gene network analysis in identifying drug repurposing candidates for insomnia. Further experimental validation is warranted to elucidate the therapeutic mechanisms of NRXN1 modulation in insomnia treatment.

Background and Aim: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been known as a highly pathogenic bacteria in animals and humans, which is still becoming a global health issue. The prevalence of MRSA infection continues to increase worldwide and has become a global concern as a dangerous zoonotic disease. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050 MRSA will be the leading cause of death. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of MRSA in S. aureus isolates of veterinary and human origin in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 cases of S. aureus infection were examined in this study, consisting of nine isolates from cattle, five from goat, and 28 from human. All isolates were confirmed as S. aureus based on bacterial culture and detection of 23S rRNA and thermonuclease nuc gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Among 42 isolates, 35 isolates (83.3%) were identified as MRSA by PCR positive of mecA gene encoding methicillin resistance. Most MRSA strains were found in human isolates (100%), followed by cattle isolates (55.5%) and goats (40%). All MRSA strains were also multi-resistant to penicillin (blaZ gene) and tetracycline (tetK, and tetM genes) with a prevalence of about 98%. Conclusion: MRSA prevalence in humans and animals has increased significantly in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, compared to the previous study. The antimicrobial resistance pattern of MRSA animal isolates tends to be similar to humans and, thus, raises public health concerns about MRSA zoonotic spread. Keywords: animal, antimicrobial resistance, human, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus aureus.