Lee Swanson Research Update

Vitamin E Supplements May Cut Heart Disease Risk in Diabetics

November 2007

Vitamin E and heart disease are in the news again. This time, researchers in Italy say that vitamin E supplementation may counteract complications in type 2 diabetics linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Daily vitamin E supplements (500 IU) were found to decrease levels of a protein associated with higher risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and ultimately cardiovascular disease in this study with 37 type 2 diabetics. The findings were published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.

"Vitamin E might therefore be effective in preventing early endothelial damage in type 2 diabetes mellitus, possibly representing a new tool for endothelial protection," wrote lead author Arianna Vignini from Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona.

Type 2 diabetics are known to be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and this has been linked to a decrease in fibrinolysis—a process whereby the protein fibrin is broken down in the bloodstream. Fibrin plays an active role in coagulation of the blood.

The decrease in fibrinolysis has been linked to increased production of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), as is observed in diabetics, as well as cellular adhesion molecules, including the vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and the intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM).

The researchers assigned 24 men and 13 women to receive the daily vitamin E supplements for 10 weeks, and then followed for a further 20 weeks. At the end of the study, Vignini and coworkers report that PAI-1 levels decreased by 32% after 10 weeks, and returned to approximate baseline levels after a further 20 weeks without supplementation.

Moreover, VCAM-1 and ICAM levels decreased after 10 weeks, by 12% and 19%, respectively. In addition, the production of nitric oxide (NO)—a molecule key for better blood flow—increased by about 50% after 10 weeks of vitamin E supplementation.

Nitric oxide is a molecule used by the endothelium (cells lining the surface of blood vessels) to signal surrounding muscle to relax, leading to a reduction in blood pressure, reduced blood clotting and protection against myocardial infarction and strokes.

Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, published on-line ahead of print

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