Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the global epidemic of this century, affecting almost 100 million people, and it is now the leading cause of liver-related mortality and liver transplantation. Interferon (IFN)-α was introduced as the first treatment for chronic hepatitis C but had several limitations, including factors that cause unresponsiveness to therapy, such as viral and host factors. The availability of non-interferon antiviral agents, direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), has led to a major paradigm shift in the treatment of HCV infection. This therapy has been shown to achieve higher cure rates and minimal side effect profiles in clinical trials. This study is aimed to determine the correlation between host factors, such as age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) with virological response to DAA treatment in hepatitis C patients. Result Observational research with a retrospective cohort approach was conducted at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia, from April 2021 to October 2021. The virological response was assessed using HCV-RNA quantitative and sustained virological response (SVR) 12 weeks after therapy. The research was conducted on 86 subjects consisting of 57 men and 29 women with a mean age of 48.69±13.94 years and mean BMI of 23.17±3.71 kg/m2, with SVR12 up to 90.7%. Study analysis did not find a significant correlation between age, gender, and BMI, with virological response SVR12 of chronic hepatitis C patients with direct-acting antiviral (p>0.05). Conclusion Age, gender, and body mass index do not influence the success of DAA therapy.

Peutz–Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterised by mucocutaneous pigmentation, gastrointestinal polyps and an increased risk of gastrointestinal and other cancers. We report an Indonesian woman, aged 28, with black spots on her lips who had multiple polyps extending from the stomach to the rectum. Her father and a son also had mucocutaneous lesions but they did not undergo gastrointestinal investigations. All three had mutations in the serine/threonine kinase 11 gene (STK11).

Introduction: One of the chronic kidney disease (CKD) manifestations is mineral disorder, such as phosphate and calcium. Phosphatonin levels are regulated by the hormone phosphatonin, which the most commonly associated with CKD is fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), mainly synthesized by bone cells. The increase in FGF-23 in CKD subjects is a physiological response to stabilize phosphate levels. Several conditions can increase FGF-23 levels including age, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and hypertension. Objectives: This study aims to test the correlation between FGF-23 levels at various stages of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in CKD. Patients and Methods: This study is observational with a cross-sectional approach conducted at Wahidin Sudirohusodo and Unhas hospitals of Makassar. Subjects are CKD patients which meet inclusion criteria. Intact serum FGF-23 levels were measured using an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kit (Immutopics). Statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA test, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman’s correlation tests. Statistical results are considered significant if P<0.05. Results: The research was conducted on 78 subjects with CKD stages 3, 4 and 5, which consisted of 40 men and 38 women. The correlation test showed that the lower the GFR, the higher the FGF-23 level (P<0.05). No significant correlation between age, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension with FGF-23 were detected (P>0.05). Conclusion: We found that every increase in the CKD stages and decrease of GFR, would be associated with an increase in the plasma levels of FGF-23. However, FGF-23 plasma concentration had no significant correlation with age, BMI, DM, and hypertension.