Vitamin D levels of obesity and non-obesity health workers: a cross-sectional study in Dr. Sardjito General Hospital/Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta

Obesity is one of the causes of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer, dyslipidemia, and heart disease. It is considered a financial burden on national health insurance since it drains the largest health fund. The study aimed to determine the difference in vitamin D levels in obese and non-obese health workers and analyze the factors that influence it. This was a cross-sectional study of the obese and non-obese health workers at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital, Yogyakarta. A total of 50 subjects, including 25 obese and 25 non-obese subjects were involved. Serum vitamin D levels was determined by ELISA. There was no significant difference between the obese and non-obese groups on vitamin D status (p30 min (OR 7.061; 95% CI: 1.064-46.872; p=0.043). In conclusion, there is no significant difference in vitamin D levels between the obese and non-obese groups. Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is more common in non-obese subjects than in obese subjects. Outdoor activity <30 min is a risk factor for vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency despite living in a tropical country with abundant sunlight throughout the year.

Health measurement profile of older adults in Sleman District, Yogyakarta: its correlation with low-grade chronic inflammation in hypertension

The older adult often experiences a low-grade chronic inflammation that commonly manifests in various conditions without infection, including hypertension. The serum neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and hyperuricemia are important markers for various diseases including hypertension. Older adult accounts for 17.33% of the total population of Yogyakarta Special Province, which is the highest compared to other provinces. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between NLR and hyperuricemia with hypertension among adult patients in Sleman District, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It was a community-based cross-sectional nested study involving 90 older adults aged ≥70 y.o. living around of the Sleman Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). Data of demographic and health characteristics of the subjects were collected. Independent t test, and Mann Whitney test were used to analyze mean differences between normotensive and hypertensive groups.  Multivariate analysis with logistic regression was used to analyze correlation between all variables. The results showed 59 respondents (65%) suffered from hypertension and 31 (35%) respondents had normal and pre-hypertension. No significantly different in almost of the subject characteristics between the normotensive and the hypertensive groups was observed (p>0.05). However, significantly different between the normotensive group and the hypertensive group was observed in the history of hypertension, blood pressure/BP, mean arterial pressure/MAP, abdominal circumstance/AC, fasting blood glucose/FBG, triglyceride, and hemoglobin (p0.05). However, the uric acid level of the hypertensive group [5.6 (2.9-9.4 mg/dL)] was significantly higher than that the normotensive group [4.7 (2.9-8.0 mg/dL)] (p=0.042), although it was no significantly relationship with hypertension (p>0.05). In conclusion, there is no relationship between NLR, HsCRP and uric acid with hypertension among middle old and oldest old in Sleman District

Clinical Application of Stem Cell Therapy for Liver Cirrhosis: Progress, Pitfalls, and Prospects

Liver cirrhosis is the advanced stage of liver disease accounting for high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Liver transplantation for liver cirrhosis has several limitations, rendering stem cell transplantation as a potential therapy. Clinical trials of stem cell applications for liver cirrhosis are being established using various types of stem cells. This review will provide a current report of the achievements, limitations, and future directions of stem cell transplantation. Current progress of clinical trials is valuable in defining the best type of stem cells, mode of delivery, the number and frequency of cells to be injected, and determining potential candidates for cell therapy. Some of the encountered pitfalls are the limited homing and differentiation potential of stem cells, the use of non-xenofree culture system, and the risk for tumorigenesis in certain types of stem cells. The prospective developments of liver stem cell transplantation are the generation of genetically modified stem cells and the formation of liver organoids for treating liver cirrhosis

Use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat liver fibrosis: Current situation and future prospects

Progressive liver fibrosis is a major health issue for which no effective treatment is available, leading to cirrhosis and orthotopic liver transplantation. However, organ shortage is a reality. Hence, there is an urgent need to find alternative therapeutic strategies. Cellbased therapy using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may represent an attractive therapeutic option, based on their immunomodulatory properties, their potential to differentiate into hepatocytes, allowing the replacement of damaged hepatocytes, their potential to promote residual hepatocytes regeneration and their capacity to inhibit hepatic stellate cell activation or induce their apoptosis, particularly via paracrine mechanisms. The current review will highlight recent findings regarding the input of MSC-based therapy for the treatment of liver fibrosis, from in vitro studies to pre-clinical and clinical trials. Several studies have shown the ability of MSCs to reduce liver fibrosis and improve liver function. However, despite these promising results, some limitations need to be considered. Future prospects will also be discussed in this review