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Long-term vitamin E supplementation fails to reduce lipid peroxidation in people at cardiovascular risk: analysis of underlying factors

Chiara Chiabrando1 email, Fausto Avanzini2 email, Claudia Rivalta1 email, Fabio Colombo2 email, Roberto Fanelli1 email, Gaetana Palumbo3 email and Maria Carla Roncaglioni2 email for PPP Collaborative Group on the antioxidant effect of vitamin E email

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche 'Mario Negri', via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milano, Italy

Department of Cardiovascular Research, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche 'Mario Negri', via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milano, Italy

Divisione di Medicina V piano, Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedale San Carlo Borromeo, Via Pio II 3, 20153 Milano, Italy

author email corresponding author email

Current Controlled Trials in Cardiovascular Medicine 2002, 3:5doi:10.1186/1468-6708-3-5

Published: 19 March 2002

Abstract

Background

Antioxidant supplementation with vitamin E had no effect in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in three recent large, randomized clinical trials. In order to reassess critically the role of vitamin E in CVD prevention, it is important to establish whether these results are related to a lack of antioxidant action.

Methods

We examined the in vivo antioxidant effect of vitamin E (300 mg/day for about three years) in 144 participants in the Primary Prevention Project (females and males, aged ≥ 50 y, with at least one major CV risk factor, but no history of CVD). Urinary 8-epi-PGF2α (isoprostane F2α-III or 15-F2t-isoP), a validated biomarker of lipid peroxidation, was measured by mass spectrometry.

Results

Urinary excretion of 8-epi-PGF2α [pg/mg creatinine, median (range)] was 141 (67–498) in treated and 148 (76–561) in untreated subjects (p = 0.10). Taking into account possible confounding variables, multiple regression analysis confirmed that vitamin E had no significant effect on this biomarker. Levels of 8-epi-PGF2α were in the normal range for most subjects, except smokers and those with uncontrolled blood pressure or hyperglycemia.

Conclusions

Prolonged vitamin E supplementation did not reduce lipid peroxidation in subjects with major cardiovascular risk factors. The observation that the rate of lipid peroxidation was near normal in a large proportion of subjects may help explain why vitamin E was not effective as an antioxidant in the PPP study and was ineffective for CVD prevention in large scale trials.


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