Antioxidant Vitamins May Prevent Blood Vessel Blockage and Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease

[Guest guest]

How is it that these scientists have " discovered " what the Drs. Shute showed 50

years ago with Vitamin E and Linus Pauling showed over twenty years ago with

vitamin C.

 

 

 

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?id=3827

 

Antioxidant Vitamins May Prevent Blood Vessel Blockage and Protect Against

Cardiovascular Disease

 

 

January 15, 2003

Contact: Elaine Schmidt ( elaines )

Phone: 310-794-2272

 

 

A UCLA research team has discovered that a popular health supplement and

antioxidant vitamins may help prevent atherosclerosis, or blockage of the blood

vessels. The findings are reported in the Jan. 13 online edition of the

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

" Our findings suggest that people who take dietary supplements of L-arginine, an

amino acid, and antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, might be at a lower risk

for atherosclerosis and heart disease, " said Dr. Louis J. Ignarro, a 1998 Nobel

laureate in medicine and UCLA professor of molecular and medical pharmacology.

" This is significant because cardiovascular disease is still the No. 1 cause of

death in the United States. "

 

The early lesions and cholesterol deposits that mark atherosclerosis first

develop where blood vessels branch in different directions. Blood rushing around

these tight corners constantly exposes cells to a pounding force, causing

inflammation. As the inflamed blood vessels narrow, plaques build up inside,

blocking blood flow and often leading to serious disease, such as stroke and

heart attacks.

 

" Atherosclerotic plaques act like trash caught in a river bend, impeding the

flow, " Ignarro said. " But our research shows that treatment with antioxidants

and L-arginine may prevent blood vessel inflammation and subsequent damage. "

 

Ignarro's lab exposed human cells in a culture dish to varying forces of fluid

flow and found that high shear stress induced inflammatory molecules. When the

scientists added antioxidants and L-arginine to the cells, the production of

harmful molecules decreased. In addition, this step increased production of

eNOS, a molecule that promotes dilation of the blood vessels and prevents

clotting.

 

The UCLA team also showed that combining L-arginine and antioxidants blunted the

damaging effects of shear stress in a strain of mice bred with high cholesterol

levels.

 

" It's likely that L-arginine and the antioxidants act synergistically to reduce

the levels of inflammatory molecules and increase eNOS levels, " Ignarro said.

" Although the experiments were conducted in mice, we believe that these

observations may predict the same outcome in patients who suffer from

atherosclerosis and heart disease. "

 

Co-authors included Sharon Williams Ignarro and Wulf Palinski from UCLA;

Fiolmena de Nigris, Giacomo Sica and Claudio Napoli from the University of

Naples; and Lilach Lerman and Amir Lerman from the Mayo Clinic.

 

The National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Foundation supported the

research.

 

-UCLA-

 

ES015

 

 

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