Abstract Introduction Lipoprotein apheresis (LA) is an extracorporeal therapy which removes apolipoprotein B-containing particles from the circulation. We evaluated techniques and efficiency of lipoprotein apheresis procedures applied to patients with familial and non-familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) at our center. Methods We retrospectively evaluated 250 LA procedures applied to 27 patients with dyslipidemia between March 2011 and August 2019. Results A total of 27 patients, of whom 19 (70.4%) were male and 8 (29.6%), female, were included. Eighteen (66.7%), 6 (22.2%) and 3 (11.1%) patients were diagnosed with non-FH, homozygous FH (HoFH) and heterozygous FH (HeFH), respectively. Two different apheresis techniques, direct adsorption of lipoproteins (DALI) (48.8%) and double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) (51.2%), were used. The change in the serum total cholesterol (TC) level was the median 302 mg/dl (171-604 mg/dl) (60.4%) in HoFH patients, 305 mg/dl (194-393 mg/dl) (60.8%) in HeFH patients and 227 mg/dl (75-749 mg/dl) (65.3%) in non-FH patients. The change in the serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level was the median 275 mg/dl (109-519 mg/dl) (64.2%), 232 mg/dl (207-291 mg/dl) (64.5%) and 325 mg/dl (22-735 mg/dl) (70.9%) in patients with HoFH, HeFH and non-FH, respectively. A significantly effective reduction in serum lipid levels, including TC, LDL and triglycerides, was achieved in all patients, regardless of the technique, p< .001. The decrease in the serum TC and LDL levels was significantly higher in the DFPP, compared to the DALI, being 220 mg/dl (-300 to 771) vs 184 mg/dl (64-415), p< .001 and 196 mg/dl (11-712) vs 157 mg/dl (54-340), p< .001, respectively. Conclusions Our results showed that LA is a highly effective treatment in reducing serum lipid levels and safe, without any major adverse event.

SUMMARY: This study was conducted to evaluate whether the four-wing salt bush plant (Atriplex canescens) can be used to prevent erosion on the areas with steep slopes with semi-arid conditions by applying different soil conservation methods and planting spaces in a semi-arid region of Turkey. For this purpose, eight treatments with three replications (20 m2 plots) were established in the study site to measure amount of runoff and soil loss after precipitation events in 2015 and 2016, where vegetation cover was completely removed by spraying herbicide. Planting holes and terraces were established and half of them were planted with saplings of Atriplex canescens with different planting spaces (3 m interval, 0.5 and 1 m distances) to determine if different soil conservation types or combination of them with planting have any impact on soil loss and surface runoff. The results suggested that soil loss and surface runoff in eight treatment plots were higher in 2015 compared to 2016. The highest soil loss was 0.42 Mg ha-1 in the control treatment, while the lowest was 0.11 Mg ha-1 with cultivation with terrace + 50 cm of A. canescens in 2015. The total surface runoff was 4.66 mm in the control in 2015 whereas it was 2.33 mm in terracing + planting of A. canescens at 50 cm spacing. The combined treatment (terrace with planting of A. canescens at 50 cm distance) seems to be the best method to decrease surface runoff and erosion compared to the other treatments employed on the slopes (43 %) in Eskisehir.

RESUMEN: Se evaluó el arbusto Atriplex canescens para evitar la erosión en áreas con pendientes pronunciadas con condiciones semiáridas de Turquía, mediante aplicación de diferentes métodos de conservación del suelo y densidades de plantación. Se establecieron ocho tratamientos con tres repeticiones (parcelas de 20 m2) en el sitio de estudio para medir la escorrentía y pérdida de suelo después de los eventos de precipitación en 2015 y 2016, donde la cubierta vegetal se eliminó mediante herbicida. Se establecieron hoyos y terrazas de plantación y la mitad de ellos se plantaron con individuos jóvenes de A. canescens con diferentes densidades de plantación (intervalo de 3 m, distancias de 0,5 y 1 m). Los resultados sugirieron que la pérdida de suelo y la escorrentía superficial en las ocho parcelas de tratamiento fueron mayores en 2015 en comparación con 2016. La mayor pérdida de suelo fue de 0,42 Mg ha-1 en el tratamiento de control, mientras que la más baja fue de 0,11 Mg ha-1 con cultivo con terraza + 50 cm de A. canescens en 2015. La escorrentía total de la superficie fue de 4,66 mm en el control en 2015, mientras que fue de 2,33 mm en terrazas + plantación de A. canescens con un distanciamiento de 50 cm. El tratamiento combinado (terraza con plantación de A. canescens a 50 cm de distancia) parece ser el mejor método para disminuir la escorrentía superficial y la erosión en comparación con los otros tratamientos empleados en las pendientes (43 %) en Eskisehir.