Vitamin E Unlikely to Improve Endothelial or LV Function in Diabetics

High doses of vitamin E have no beneficial effects on endothelial or left ventricular function in patients with long-standing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Aristidis Veves from the Joslin-Beth Israel Deaconess Foot Center in Boston stated that, "these results were opposite to our initial hypothesis, namely that vitamin E will have a beneficial effect on measurements of the vascular reactivity in both the micro- and macrocirculation."

In the study, investigators randomly assigned 32 type I and 57 type 2 diabetic patients to 1,800 International Units of vitamin E daily or placebo for 12 months.
The changes in the endothelium dependent vasodilation of the forearm skin (microcirculation) at 6 months and the endothelium dependent and endothelium independent vasodilation of the brachial artery (macrocirculation) at 12 months were worse in vitamin E-treated patients relative to placebo-treated patients, Dr. Veves said.

Additionally, both groups showed a minor increase in systolic blood pressure, but this was more pronounced in the vitamin E group. It is also "interesting," according to the team, that the placebo group had a slight improvement in HbA1c levels and a minor reduction in total and LDL cholesterol during the study.

C-reactive protein levels fell marginally in the vitamin E group compared with the placebo group. There were no changes in endothelial function in either study group.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study that involved high doses of vitamin E for a long period (12 months) in diabetic patients," Dr. Veves noted. "Our results indicate that the use of high dosages of vitamin E cannot be recommended," he said.
Diabetes 2005;54:204-211.

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