FK-KMK UGM. The 17th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FK-KMK UGM), was held on Saturday (4/5) at the Auditorium of FK-KMK UGM. This event hosted a symposium titled ‘Autoimmune Diseases in Every Organs’ and the inauguration of the Indonesian Association of Allergy Immunology (PERALMUNI) Yogyakarta Special Region Branch for the 2024 – 2027 period.
During the event, several faculty members of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology (DV) FK-KMK UGM were inaugurated into various positions. These included Prof. Dr. dr. Hardyanto Soebono, Sp.D.V.E, Subsp. D.T, as Advisor; dr. Sri Awalia Febriana, M.Kes., Sp.D.V.E, Subsp.D.A.I., Ph.D, as Chairperson; dr. Shinta Trilaksmi Dewi, Ph.D., Sp.D.V.E, as Secretary; dr. Arief Budiyanto, Ph.D., Sp.D.V.E, Subsp.O.B.K. as Chair of the Autoimmune Working Group; dr. Fajar Waskito, Sp.D.V.E, Subsp.D.A.I., M.Kes, as a Member of the Autoimmune Working Group, and; Dr. dr. Niken Indrastuti, Sp.D.V.E, Subsp.D.A.I, as a Member of the Allergy Working Group.
Furthermore, dr. Arief Budiyanto, Ph.D., Sp.D.V.E, Subsp. O.B.K, from DV-UGM also contributed to one of the symposium sessions with a presentation on ‘Psoriasis Advanced Treatment’. “In psoriasis, what we observe is not just the disease itself but the quality of life,” he explained. Psoriasis is one type of autoimmune disease caused by skin inflammation characterized by symptoms such as thickening, scaling, and itching of the skin – typically in the form of plaques.
“All autoimmune patients can recover, but if there are triggers, it will reappear,” Arief explained while showing photos of patients he treated at Dr. Sardjito General Hospital. He also mentioned that medical treatment for this disease is covered only up to eight times by the Social Security Administering Body (BPJS) Health.
“If the BPJS coverage exceeds eight times, patients stop phototherapy, resulting in a high recurrence rate, hence the need for maintenance therapy,” he added. Managing autoimmune diseases requires advanced treatment through biological therapy. However, if there are issues with recurrence after therapy, it can be stopped while continuing maintenance therapy.
“This is a long-term disease, so early intervention is recommended to clear molecular scar tissue in psoriasis – comorbidities are also important,” concluded Arief. Through the synergy of doctors involved in PERALMUNI, there is a direct commitment to realizing the pillar of Healthy and Prosperous Life in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) third agenda. (Isroq Adi Subakti/Reporter).
