Improvement of early functional atherosclerotic changes in males with hypercholesterolemia after vitamin E supplementation

Abstract

Vitamin E as an antioxidant vitamin reduces the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to oxidation and may have antiatherosclerotic effects. We tested the hypothesis that six months of 400 mg vitamin E supplementation favourably affects early functional changes in atherosclerotic process in subjects with hypercholesterolemia. The diameter of the brachial artery at rest, after reactive hyperemia (representing endothelium-dependent vasodilatation) and after sublingual glyceryl-trinitrate (representing endothelium-independent vasodilatation), were determined by ultrasonographic method (B mode) before and after the intervention period. After the intervention period the brachial endothelium-dependent vasodilatation increased significantly in the vitamin E group while it did not change in the placebo group. In conclusion, six months of oral vitamin E supplementation results in improvement of the endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in men with hypercholesterolemia.

Effects of Supplementation with the Fat-Soluble Vitamins E and D on Fasting Flow-Mediated Vasodilation in Adults: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…The full texts of the remaining 34 articles were reviewed and eighteen papers were excluded for the following reasons: prospective cohort studies [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], missing data on FMD [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], no appropriate measures of variability reported [ 18 ], intentional co-intervention [ 28 , 29 , 30 ], or no full text available (five conference abstracts). A total of sixteen RCTs in adult volunteers with parallel [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] or crossover designs [ 46 ] met all the inclusion criteria and were finally included ( Table 1 ). In seven studies, effects of vitamin E [ 31 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 46 ] were examined and in nine studies, those of vitamin D [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

“…A total of sixteen RCTs in adult volunteers with parallel [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] or crossover designs [ 46 ] met all the inclusion criteria and were finally included ( Table 1 ). In seven studies, effects of vitamin E [ 31 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 46 ] were examined and in nine studies, those of vitamin D [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. No intervention studies were found that examined the effects of carotenoid or vitamin K supplements.…”

“…In six parallel studies [ 31 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] and in one crossover [ 46 ] trial, effects of vitamin E were examined. These studies provided eight relevant study arms and included 303 subjects.…”

“…Two studies included only men [ 31 , 37 ], whereas the proportion of men in the remaining studies ranged from 40.0% to 60.0%. In two studies, healthy elderly [ 46 ] or healthy smoking adults [ 37 ] were included, in three studies patients with diabetes [ 32 , 38 , 39 ], whereas in two studies subjects had hypercholesterolemia [ 31 ] or atypical chest pain [ 35 ]. Study duration varied between four weeks and twelve months, and the daily dose of vitamin E from 300 to 1800 IU (mean: 1090 IU/day; Table 1 ).…”