Red delicious apples were used to produce natural apple cider with and without inclusion of maceration. Traditional surface and industrial submersion methods were then applied to make vinegar from apple ciders. Apple cider vinegar samples produced with inclusion of maceration in the surface method had the highest total phenolic content, chlorogenic acid, ORAC, and TEAC levels. Cholesterol and apple vinegar samples were administered using oral gavage to all groups of rats except the control group. Apple cider vinegars, regardless of the production method, decreased triglyceride and VLDL levels in all groups when compared to animals on high-cholesterol diets without vinegar supplementation. Apple cider vinegars increased total cholesterol and HDL and LDL cholesterol levels and decreased liver function tests when compared to animals on a high-cholesterol diet without vinegar supplementation. A high-cholesterol diet resulted in hepatic steatosis. VSBM and VSB groups significantly decreased steatosis.

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To determine the lower extremity amputation rate and the risk factors for amputation, we analysed the medical records of 147 Turkish diabetic patients who have been referred to the clinic with diabetic foot. Eleven patients (7.5%) had type 1, and 136 patients (92.5%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus. Fifty-four patients (36.7%) have undergone amputation due to diabetic foot. Femoropopliteal by-pass has been performed in 4 patients in the non-amputees group who did not have gangrene. None of the patients in the amputees group has undergone a revascularisation procedure. Considering all lower-extremity amputations in the group studied, 25.9% were transphalangial amputations, 3.7% were transmetatarsal amputations, 7.4% were Syme type amputations, 51.9% were below-knee amputations, and 11.1% were above-knee amputations. In a logistic regression model, age, gender, duration of diabetes, smoking history, hypertension, retinopathy, nephropathy, and peripheral neuropathy were insignificant factors in determining the risk of amputation. In contrast, presence of peripheral vascular disease (odds ratio 4.0, 95% CI 1.17-13.4; p = 0.03), osteomyelitis (odds ratio 3.73, 95% CI 1.08-12.6; p = 0.04) and gangrene (odds ratio 30.8, 95% CI 7.39-121.5; p < 0.0001) were found to be the significant predictors of amputation. The mortality rate due to amputation during hospital stay was 13.2%. These data suggest that lower extremity amputation is a frequently encountered outcome of the hospitalized patients in Turkish diabetic population with diabetic foot which mainly occur due to peripheral vascular disease, osteomyelitis and gangrene. Lack of adequate vascularisation procedures might have contributed to a high percentage of major amputations in the group studied. Population-based studies should be undertaken in order to determine the status of lower extremity amputation as a whole in Turkish diabetic population.

Acute aortic occlusion with subsequent ischemia-reperfusion of the lower extremities is well known to predispose to lung injury. Melatonin (MEL), a pineal hormone, is a free radical scavenger and an antioxidant. The purpose of this study was to assess the putative protective role of MEL in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by aortic occlusion-reperfusion. Thirty-two rats were randomly allocated to four groups as follows: SHAM (Sham Laparotomy), SHAM+MEL, Aortic Ischemia Reperfusion (AIR) and AIR+MEL. Twenty mg/kg live weight MEL was given intraperitoneally 1 h prior to the experiment. An atraumatic microvascular clamp was placed across the infrarenal abdominal aorta (IAA) just after its origin from the aorta for 30 min. The microvascular clamp on IAA was removed and reperfused for 12 h. Lung tissues were assessed for malondialdehyde (MDA) level and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. MDA level and MPO activity, indicating the extent of lipid peroxidation and neutrophil infiltration of lung, respectively, significantly increased in AIR group when compared to SHAM and SHAM+MEL groups (P<0.05). Treating rat with MEL significantly decreased MDA levels as well as MPO activity in AIR+MEL group when compared to AIR group (P<0.05). In this study, exogenously administered MEL reduced lung injury after aortic occlusion reperfusion.

Study design: Occlusion of the infrarenal abdominal aorta with administration of pentoxifylline was applied to adult rabbits, followed by removal of aortic clamp and reperfusion. Tissue levels of cytokines, lipid peroxides, and antioxidant enzymes were assayed and compared within groups. Objectives: To examine the e ect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on cytokine levels, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzymes in a rabbit model of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury induced by aortic occlusion. Setting: Isparta, Turkey. Methods: Rabbits were randomly allocated into four groups of sham laparotomy (SHAM), sham laparotomy with PTX administration (SHAM+PTX), aortic occlusion and reperfusion (AOR), aortic occlusion and reperfusion with PTX administration (AOR+PTX). An intravenous bolus of 50 mg/kg PTX was given just before aortic cross clamping. An atraumatic microvascular clamp was then placed on the abdominal aorta immediately distal to the left renal artery for 30 min. PTX was infused at a rate of 0.5 mg/kg/min during the aortic occlusion. Animals were subjected to 120 min of reperfusion after removal of the aortic clamp. All animals were sacri®ced at the end of reperfusion. The lumbosacral segments of spinal cords were quickly harvested and stored at 7788C for biochemical assays of IL-6, TNF-a, MDA, SOD, and CAT levels. Di erences among groups were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance followed by a post hoc Tukey's honestly signi®cant di erence test. Results: No di erences in mean levels of IL-6, TNF-a, MDA, SOD, and CAT were noted between SHAM and SHAM+PTX groups (P40.05). There was a signi®cant increase in all biochemical parameters in the AOR group (P50.05). Administration of PTX signi®cantly attenuated the levels of all biochemical parameters in the AOR+PTX group (P50.05). Conclusion: PTX pretreatment attenuated ischemia-reperfusion induced spinal cord injury in a rabbit model, in terms of biochemical parameters of ischemia and reperfusion.