Does endocan level increase in women with polycystic ovary syndrome? A case — control study

Objectives: To evaluate endocan levels of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in comparison to healthy women. Material and methods: A cross-sectional case-control study on 88 patients with PCOS (mean age, 22.06 ± 4.24 years; body mass index [BMI], 23.9 ± 4.74 kg/m2) and 87 age- and BMI-matched healthy women (mean age, 23.71 ± 4.42 years; BMI, 22.15 ± 3.03 kg/m2). Results: Serum endocan level was significantly higher in PCOS group than control group (540.9 ± 280.3 pg/mL vs. 355.5 ± 233.5 pg/mL, respectively; p < 0.001). The presence of polycystic ovary finding on ultrasonography or oligomenorhea did not produce significant effect on serum endocan levels (p > 0.05). In PCOS group, endocan level was negatively correlated with BMI and C-reactive protein level, and positively correlated with high density lipoprotein level (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Blood endocan level is increased in PCOS. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical value of blood endocan level as a marker for the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in patients with PCOS

Antioxidant Effect of Bilberry on Oxidative Stress Caused by Acute Exercise in Rats

This research is supported by Atatürk University Scientific Research Commission. Abstract This study, it was aimed to determine the antioxidant effect of bilberry extract in decreasing the oxidative stress caused by acute exhaustive exercises in rats' blood and liver tissues.  27 Spraque-Dawley type male rats were divided into four groups (control, exercise, bilberry and bilberry+exercise groups). Bilberry extract was administered using gavage once daily. Before blood and liver tissues were taken, the rats ran in a treadmill at a speed of 25 m/min (1.5 km / h) at a slope of 0 for about 1 hour or until exhaustion. Compared to the control group, serum GSH levels and GPx activities did not have a significant change in the bilberry, acute exercise and bilberry + acute exercise groups; while serum MDA levels decreased significantly. When compared to the control group, liver GPx activity significantly increased in the bilberry and bilberry+acute exercise groups. Again, it was determined that liver GSH level significantly increased in bilberry+acute exercise group.The results of this study demonstrate that bilberry extract may provide antioxidant protection against a potential oxidative damage as it causes an increase in hepatic GPx activity and GSH levels in rats exposed to acute exhaustive exercise. Keywords: Antioxidants, acute exhaustive exercise, bilberry, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, malondialdehyDOI: 10.7176/JMPB/65-04 Publication date: April 30th 2020

The effect of black mulberry (Morus nigra) extract on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage

In this study, the effect of Morus nigra (M. nigra) on carbon tetrachloride (CCI4)-induced hepatic injury in the rat was investigated. A hepatotoxic rat model was developed by the injection of CCI4 dissolved in soybean oil (1 mL/kg/twice a week, intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection). Following the formation of hepatic injury, extracts of M. nigra at doses ranging from 150 to 300 mg/kg were administered to rats by i.p. injection for eight weeks. At the end of administration, rat livers were excised by dissection. The activities of liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) were detected in the serum, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), were established in the liver. Histological changes and immunohistochemical localization of caspase-3 and 8-oxo-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OhdG) were performed by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining of liver sections and caspase-3 and 8-OhdG immunohistochemical staining. The results showed that the M. nigra extract prevented protein oxidation generated by CCI4. The extracts demonstrated the ability to modulate the activity of SOD and GPx, and also prevented the CCI4-induced increase in AST and GGT levels. These results indicate that M. nigra extracts provided significant protection against CCl4-induced hepatic injury and might also present a novel approach for the treatment of some liver diseases

Relationship of Serum Paraoxonase Enzyme Activity and Thermal Burn Injury

Objective: This study investigated changes in serum oxidative stress parameters in burn cases compared to healthy controls. Materials and Methods: This study was performed in 41 burn patients with mild to severe thermal burn injuries and 38 healthy volunteers. The burn cases were selected from patients who were hospitalized in the burn unit for the treatment of second- and third-degree burns. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and PON-1 paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were measured in patient serum samples.Results: PON-1 paraoxonase activity and MDA levels in patients with major thermal burn injury were significantly higher than healthy controls, but PON-1 arylesterase activities were lower. A significant negative correlation was observed between the burn percentage of the total body surface area and the PON-1 arylesterase activities in patients.Conclusion: Human thermal burn injury was associated with an increase in MDA production and a decrease in PON-1 arylesterase activity, which was proportional to the percentage of total burned surface area

Fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin values in preterm babies and their mothers: relationships among their levels, fetal growth, and neonatal anthropometry

Objective: To investigate relationship between anthropometric values of premature babies with their's glucose, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin at birth and on day 15