Vitamin E
Vitamin E (tocopherol) is an important antioxidant that has shown promise in prevention of or treatment of cardiovascular or ocular diseases.
In studies, Vitamin E has been shown to help prevent arteries from clogging by blocking the conversion of cholesterol into the waxy fat deposits called plaque that stick to blood vessel walls.
Also, importantly from anti aging perspective, it has been noted in research that people with cancer often have lower levels of vitamin E.
In laboratory studies, the compound has inhibited the growth of some cancers in test tubes and animals, particularly hormone responsive cancers such as breast and prostate.
However, the research on the compound and its cancer preventing abilities still need very much research. The same goes for some preliminary signs that vitamin E may have preventitive properties to Alzheimer's disease.
Vitamin E - Studies
Aberg F, Appelkvist EL, Broijersen A, et al. Gemfibrozil-induced decrease in serum ubiquinone and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol levels in men with combined hyperlipidaemia. Eur J Clin Invest. 1998;28(3):2352-2342.
Adhirai M, Selvam R. Effect of cyclosporin on liver antioxidants and the protective role of vitamin E in hyperoxaluria in rats. J Pharm Pharmacol. 1998;50(5):501-505.
Albanes D, Malila N, Taylor PR, et al. Effects of supplemental alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene on colorectal cancer: results from a controlled trial (Finland). Cancer Causes Control. 2000;11:197-205.
Allard JP, Aghdassi E, Chau J, et al. Effects of vitamin E and C supplementation on oxidative stress and viral load in HIV-infected subjects. AIDS. 1998;13:1653-1659.
Altura BM, Gebrewold A. Alpha-tocopherol attenuates alcohol-induced cerebral vascular damage in rats: possible role of oxidants in alcohol brain pathology and stroke. Neurosci Lett. 1996;220(3):207-210.
Ames BN. Micronutrient deficiencies: A major cause of DNA damage. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2000;889:87-106.
Anderson JW, Gowri MS, Turner J,et al. Antioxidant supplementation effects low density lipoprotein oxidation for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Amer Coll Nutr. 1999;18:451-461.
Babu JR, Sundravel S, Arumugam G, Renuka R, Deepa N, Sachdanandam P. Salubrious effect of vitamin C and vitamin E on tamoxifen-treated women in breast cancer with reference to plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels. Cancer Lett. 2002;151:1-5.
Belda JI, Roma J, Vilela C, Puertas FJ, Diaz-Llopis M, Bosch-Morell F, Romero FJ. Serum vitamin E levels negatively correlate with severity of age-related macular degeneration. Mech Ageing Dev. 1999;107(2):159-164.
Bhaumik G, Srivastava KK, Selvamurthy W, Purkayastha SS. The role of free radicals in cold injuries. Int J Biometeorol. 1995;38(4):171-175.
Bursell S, Clermont AC, Aiello LP, et al. High-dose vitamin E supplementation normalizes retinal blood flow and creatinine clearance in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 1999;22(8):1245-1251.
Cai J, Nelson KC, Wu M, Sternberg P Jr, Jones DP. Oxidative damage and protection of the RPE. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2000;19(2):205-221.
Chang T, Benet LZ, Hebert MF. The effect of water-soluble vitamin E on cyclosporine pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers. Clin Pharm & Ther. 1996;59(3):297-303.
Christen WG, Ajani UA, Glynn RJ, Manson JE, Schaumberg DA, Chew EC, Buring JE, Hennekens CH. Prospective cohort study of antioxidant vitamin supplement use and the risk of age-related maculopathy. Am J Epidemiol. 1999;149(5):476-484.
Ciavatti M, Renaud S. Oxidative status and oral contraceptive. Its relevance to platelet abnormalities and cardiovasular risk. Free Radic Biol Med. 1991;10(5)L325-338.
Clemente C, Caruso MG, Berloco P, Buonsante A, Giannandrea B, Di Leo A. Alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene serum levels in post-menopausal women treated with transdermal estradiol and oral medroxyprogesterone acetate. Horm Metab Res. 1996;28(10):558-561.
Collaborative Group of the Primary Prevention Project. Low-dose aspirin and vitamin E in people at cardiovascular risk: a randomised trial in general practice. Lancet. 2001;357:89-95.
Corrigan JJ. The effect of vitamin E on warfarin-induced vitamin K deficiency. Ann NY Acad Sci. 1982;393:361-368.
Diaz MN, Frei B, Vita JA, Keaney JF. Antioxidants and atherosclerotic heart disease. N Engl J Med. 1997;337(16):408-416.
Eberlein-König B, Placzek M, Przybilla B. Protective effect against sunburn of combined systemic ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and d-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). J Am Acad Dermatol. 1998;38(1):45-48.
Emmert DH, Kircher JT. The role of vitamin E in the prevention of heart disease. Arch Fam Med. 1999;8(6):537-542.
Fahn S. A pilot trial of high dose alpha tocopherol and ascorbate in early Parkinson's disease. Ann Neurol. 1992;32:S128-S132.
Flood A, Schatzkin A. Colorectal cancer: does it matter if you eat your fruits and vegetables? J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000;92(21):1706-1707.
Fuchs J, Kern H. Modulation of UV-light-induced skin inflammation by D-alpha-tocopherol and L-ascorbic acid: a clinical study using solar simulated radiation. Free Radic Biol Med. 1998;25(9):1006-1012.
Gaby AR. Natural treatments for osteoarthritis. Altern Med Rev. 1999;4(5):330-341.
GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet. 1999;354:447-455.
Gogu S, Beckman B, Rangan S, et al. Increased therapeutic efficacy of zidovudine in combination with vitamin E. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1989; 165:401-407.
Greenberg ER, Baron JA, Tosteson TD, et al. A clinical trial of antioxidant vitamins to prevent colorectal adenoma. N Engl J Med. 1994;331:141-147.
Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study Investigators. Vitamin E supplementation and cardiovascular events in high-risk patients. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:154-160.
Helzlsouer KJ, Huang HY, Alberg AJ, et al. Association between alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, selenium and subsequent prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000 Dec 20;92(24):2018-2023.
Hodis HN, Mack WJ, LaBree L et al. Serial coronary angiographic evidence that antioxidant vitamin intake reduces progression of coronary artery atherosclerosis. JAMA. 1995;273(23):1849-1854.
Inal M, Sunal E, Kanbak G, Zeytinoglu S. Effects of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and alpha-tocopherol on the lipid profiles and antioxidant status. Clin Chim Acta. 1997;268(1-2):21-29.
Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. 2000; National Academy Press.
Jacques PF. The potential preventive effects of vitamins for cataract and age-related macular degeneration. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 1999;69(3):198-205.
Jänne PA, Mayer RJ. Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2000;342(26):1960-1968.
Kim JM, White RH. Effect of vitamin E on the anticoagulant response to warfarin. Am J Cardiol. 1996;77(7):545-546.
Kimmick GG, Bell RA, Bostick RM. Vitamin E and breast cancer: a review.
Nutr Cancer. 1997;27(2):109-117.
Kitiyakara C, Wilcox C. Antioxidants for hypertension. Curr Opin Nephrol Hyperten. 1998;7:S31-S38.
Knekt P. Role of vitamin E in the prophylaxis of cancer. Ann Med. 1991;23(1):3-12.
Krauss RM, Eckel RH, Howard B, Appel LJ, Daniels SR, Deckelbaum RJ, et al. AHA Scientific Statement: AHA Dietary guidelines Revision 2000: A statement for healthcare professionals from the nutrition committee of the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2000;102(18):2284-2299.
Kushi LH, Fee RM, Sellers TA, Zheng W, Folsom AR. Intake of vitamins A, C, and E and postmenopausal breast cancer. The Iowa Women's Health Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1996;144(2):165-174.
Laight DW, Carrier MJ, Anggard EE. Antioxidants, diabetes and endothelial dysfunction. Cardiovasc Res. 2000;47:457-464.
Lamson DW, Brignall MS. Antioxidants in cancer therapy; their actions and interactions with oncologic therapies. Altern Med Rev. 1999;4(5):304-329.
Leske MC, Chylack Jr LT, He Q, et al. Antioxidant vitamins and nuclear opacities: the longitudinal study of cataract. Ophthalmology. 1998;105:831–836.
Loprinzi CL, Barton DL, Rhodes D. Management of hot flashes in breast-cancer survivors. Lancet. 2001;2:199-204.
Malafa MP, Neitzel LT. Vitamin E succinate promotes breast cancer tumor dormancy. J Surg Res. 2000 Sep;93(1):163-170.
Markesbery WR. Oxidative stress hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease. Free Radical Biol Med. 1997;23:134-147.
Masaki KH, Losonczy KG, Izmirlian G. Association of vitamin E and C supplement use with cognitive function and dementia in elderly men. Neurology. 2000;54:1265-1272.
McAlindon TE, Felson DT, Zhang Y, et al. Relation of dietary intake of serum levels of vitamin D to progression of osteoarthritis of the knee among participants in the Framingham study. Ann Intern Med. 1996;125:353-359.
McCloy R. Chronic pancreatitis at Manchester, UK. Focus on antioxidant therapy. Digestion. 1998;59(suppl 4):36-48.
Meydani SN, Meydani M, Blumberg JB, et al. Assessment of the safety of supplementation with different amounts of vitamin E in healthy older adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68:311–318.
Meydani SN, Meydani M, Blumberg JB, et al. Vitamin E supplementation and in vivo immune response in healthy elderly subjects. A randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 1997;277:1380–1386.
Michels KB, Giovannucci E, Joshipura KJ, et al. Prospective study of fruit and vegetable consumption and incidence of colon and rectal cancers. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2000;92:1740-1752.
Morris MC, Beckett LA, Scherr PA, et al. Vitamin E and vitamin C supplement use and risk of incident Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 1998;12:121-126.
Morris-Stiff GJ, Bowrey DJ, Oleesky D, Davies M, Clark GW, Puntis MC. The antioxidant profiles of patients with recurrent acute and chronic pancreatitis. Am J Gastroenterol. 1999;94(8):2135-2140.
Nesaretnam K, Stephen R, Dils R, Darbre P. Tocotrienols inhibit the growth of human breast cancer cells irrespective of estrogen receptor status. Lipids. 1998;33(5):461-469.
Neunteufl T, Kostner K, Katzenschlager R, et al. Additional benefit of vitamin E supplementation to simvastatin therapy on vasoreactivity of the brachial artery of hypercholesterolemic men. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998;32(3):711-716.
Nutrients and Nutritional Agents. In: Kastrup EK, Hines Burnham T, Short RM, et al, eds. Drug Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, Mo: Facts and Comparisons; 2000:4-5.
Palomaki A, Malminiemi K, Solakivi T, Malminiemi O. Ubiquinone supplementation during lovastatin treatment: effect on LDL oxidation ex vivo. J Lipid Res. 1998;39(7):1430-1437.
Pitchumoni SS, Doraiswamy M. Current status of antioxidant therapy for Alzheimer's disease. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998;46:1566-1572.
Pratt S. Dietary prevention of age-related macular degeneration. J Am Optom Assoc. 1999;70:39-47.
Pronsky Z. Food-Medication Interactions. 9th ed. Pottstown, Pa: 1995.
Pruthi S, Allison TG, Hensrud DD. Vitamin E supplementation in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Mayo Clin Proc. 2001;76:1131-1136.
Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Willett WC. Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease in men. N Engl J Med. 1993;328(20):1450-1456
Salonen JT, Jyysonen K, Tuomainen TP. Increased risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus at low plasma vitamin E concentrations. A four year follow up study in men. Br Med J. 1995;311:1124-1127.
Sano M, Ernesto C, Thomas RG, et al. A controlled trial of selegiline, alpha-tocopherol, or both as treatment for Alzheimer's disease. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:1216-1222.
Schatzkin A, Lanza E, Corle D, et al. Lack of effect of a low-fat, high-fiber diet on the recurrence of colorectal adenomas. N Engl J Med. 2000;342(16):1149-1155.
Scolapio JS, Malhi-Chowla N, Ukleja A. Nutrition supplementation in patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 1999;28(3):695-707.
Scuntaro I, Kientsch U, Wiesmann U, et al. Inhibition by vitamin E of drug accumulation and of phospholipidosis induced by desipramine and other cationic amphiphilic drugs in human cultured cells. Br J Pharmacol. 1996;119:829-834.
Seddon JM, Ajani UA, Sperduto RD, Hiller R, Blair N, Burton TC, Farber MD, Gragoudas ES, Haller J, Miller DR, Yannuzzi LA, Willett W. Dietary carotenoids, vitamins A, C, and E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration. JAMA. 1994;272:1413-1420.
Segasothy M, Phillips PA. Vegetarian diet: panacea for modern lifestyle diseases? QJM. 1999;92(9):531-544.
Shabert JK, Winslow C, Lacey JM, Wilmore DW. Glutamine antioxidant supplementation increases body cell mass in AIDS patients with weight loss: a randomized, double-blind controlled trial. Nutrition. 1999;11:860-864.
Sigounas G, Anagnostou A, Steiner M. dl-alpha-tocopherol induces apoptosis in erythroleukemia, prostate, and breast cancer cells. Nutr Cancer. 1997;28(1):30-35.
Simsek M, Naziroglu M, Simsek H, Cay M, Aksakal M, Kumru S. Blood plasma levels of lipoperoxides, glutathione peroxidase, beta carotene, vitamin A and E in women with habitual abortion. Cell Biochem Funct. 1998;16(4):227-231.
Slattery ML, Edwards S, Anderson K, Caan B. Vitamin E and colon cancer: is there an association? Nutr Cancer. 1998:30(3):201-206.
Smith W, Mitchell P, Webb K, Leeder SR. Dietary antioxidants and age-related maculopathy: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 1999;106(4):761-767.
Stampfer MJ, Hennekens CH, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Rosner B, Willett WC. Vitamin E consumption and the risk of coronary disease in women. N Engl J Med. 1993;328(20):1444-1449.
Steiner M, Glantz M, Lekos A. Vitamin E plus aspirin compared with aspirin alone in patients with transient ischemic attacks. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995;62(suppl):1381S-4138S.
Stephens NG, Parsons A, Schofield PM, Kelly F, Cheeseman K, Mitchinson MJ. Randomised controlled trial of vitamin E in patients with coronary disease: Cambridge Heart Antioxidant Study (CHAOS). Lancet. 1996; 347(9004):781-786.
Tabet N, Birks J, Grimley Evans J. Vitamin E for Alzheimer's disease (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2000. Oxford: Update Software.
Tribble DL. Antioxidant consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: emphasis on vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. Circulation. 1999;99:591-595.
VandenLangenberg GM, Mares-Perlman JA, Klein R, Klein BE, Brady WE, Palta M. Associations between antioxidant and zinc intake and the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy in the Beaver Dam Eye Study. Am J Epidemiol. 1998;148(2):204-214.
van der Worp HB, Thomas CE, Kappelle LJ, Hoffman WP, de Wildt DJ, Bar PR. Inhibition of iron-dependent and ischemia-induced brain damage by the alpha-tocopherol analogue MDL 74,722. Exp Neurol. 1999;155(1):103-108.
Van Rensburg CE, Joone G, Anderson R. Alpha-tocopherol antagonizes the multidrug-resistance-reversal activity of cyclosporin A, verapamil, GF 120918, clofazimine and B669. Cancer Letter. 1998;127(1-2):107-112.
van Rooij J, Schwartzenberg SG, Mulder PG, Baarsma SG. Oral vitamins C and E as additional treatment in patients with acute anterior uveitis: a randomised double masked study in 145 patients. Br J Ophthalmol. 1999;83(11):1277-1282.
van 't Veer P, Strain JJ, Fernandez-Crehuet J, et al. Tissue antioxidants and postmenopausal breast cancer: the European Community Multicentre Study on Antioxidants, Myocardial Infarction, and Cancer of the Breast (EURAMIC). Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1996 Jun;5(6):441-447.
Virtamo J, Rapola JM, Ripatti S, et al. Effect of vitamin E and beta carotene on the incidence of primary nonfatal myocardial infaction and fatal coronary heart disease. Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:668-675.
West S, Vitale S, Hallfrisch J, Munoz B, Muller D, Bressler S, Bressler NM. Are antioxidants or supplements protective for age-related macular degeneration? Arch Ophthal. 1994;112(2):222-227.
Williams JC, Forster LA, Tull SP, Wong M, Bevan RJ, Ferns GAA. Dietary vitamin E supplementation inhibits thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, but not monocyte adhesiveness, in patients with hypercholesterolaemia. M J Exp Path. 1997;78:259-266.
Yochum LA, Folsom AR, Kushi LH. Intake of antioxidant vitamins and risk of death from stroke in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;72:476-483.
Yoshida H, Ishikawa T, Ayaori M, et al. Beneficial effect of gemfibrozil on the chemical composition and oxidative susceptibility of low density lipoprotein: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Atheroscl. 1998;139(1):179-187.
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