Vitamin E Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vitamin E, including details on benefits, dosage, supplements, antioxidants.

A study on the action of vitamin E supplementation on plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 and platelet nitric oxide production in type 2 diabetic patients.

Vignini A, Nanetti L, Moroni C, Testa R, Sirolla C, Marra M, Manfrini S, Fumelli D, Marcheselli F, Mazzanti L, Rabini RA

Institute of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via P. Ranieri 65, 60131 Ancona, Italy. vignini2@libero.it

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients show decreased fibrinolysis, mainly linked to high plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) production, together with a reduced bioavailability of nitric oxide and an impairment in Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity possibly involved in increased cardiovascular risk. Vitamin E is the major natural lipid-soluble antioxidant in human plasma. The present work was conducted in order to measure PAI-1, ICAM and VCAM-1 plasma levels, platelet nitric oxide production and membrane Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity in type 2 diabetic subjects treated with vitamin E (500 IU/day) for 10 weeks and then followed for other 20 weeks. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-seven T2DM patients (24 males and 13 females) were studied. None of them were affected by any other disease or diabetic complications. Significant differences were detected for PAI-1 antigen (p<0.001), PAI-1 activity (p<0.001), nitric oxide (NO) production (p<0.001), and Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity (p<0.001) among the 4 phases of the study. A significant decrease both in ICAM and VCAM-1 plasma levels was also found at the 10th week compared with baseline (respectively p<0.001 and p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that vitamin E counteracts endothelial activation in T2DM patients possibly representing a new tool for endothelial protection.

Published 25 December 2007 in Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 18(1): 15-22.
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