PF3 activity in normal subjects and beta-thalassemia trait.

Platelet factor 3 (PF3) is a platelet membrane component that plays an important role in the activation of the coagulation mechanism. Whenever platelet activation occurred, PF3 is released and participates in thrombin formation. Erythrocyte membrane fraction has also some PF3 like activity, and in abnormal erythrocyte membrane disorders, eg thalassemia, some of the membrane fraction accelerates platelet activation by increasing the PF3 activity. Formerly it was difficult to measure the PF3 activity in plasma. Recently a sensitive chromogenic test to determine the PF3 activity, which could detect the changes in PF3 activity with time, was introduced. This study was done to observe the effect of abnormal erythrocyte on platelet activation. The results obtained using the chromogenic method are the following: whole blood taken from normal subjects showed OD 0.11 +/- 0.06 at 0 minutes after blood collection and then increased significantly (p < 0.01) to 0.21 +/- 0.10 after 90 minutes, while the platelet count did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). Those results showed that there were some platelet activation after 90 minutes as seen by the increased PF3 activity, with no significant change in platelet counts. In beta-thalassemic trait subjects the PF3 activity in whole blood at 0 minutes did not differ significantly compared to the normal subjects, but after 90 minutes it was significantly higher (p < 0.01), OD 0.52 +/- 0.35. However the PF3 in platelet rich plasma at 90 minutes did not increase. The platelet count after 90 minutes was significantly decreased (p < 0.01) This result suggest that the increase in PF3 activity was caused by the role of the abnormal erythrocytes.

Hepatitis C among blood donors in Jakarta.

One type of non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH) is caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), and is mostly transmitted through blood transfusion or its components. The prevalence of NANBH among post transfusion hepatitis (PTH) in Western countries is around 90-95%. After Chiron had identified the viral protein which caused parenteral NANBH or HCV, it became possible to detect the antibody for HCV as a sign of its transmission. In Indonesia, the usage of blood and its components gradually increased every year. Since 1985, all blood components from the Indonesian Red Cross were screened against hepatitis B virus (HBV), and it was found that most of the post-transfusion hepatitis were caused by HCV. In this study, the prevalence of the HCV antibody in blood donors was 3 out of 193 (1.6%) using the ELISA method (Ortho).

Investigation of coagulation abnormalities in patients with erythema nodosum leprosum.

Twenty erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) patients were examined. Coagulation studies were carried out in 13 of them during their active stage and 7 in the latent stage. From these 13 patients, 6 were re-examined when the disease became latent. From these observations a conclusion can be drawn that there are coagulation abnormalities in the majority of ENL patients in the active stage and these abnormalities will return to normal values when the disease becomes latent.