Antioxidant vitamins and their use in preventing cardiovascular disease

Atherosclerosis remains one of the leading causes of death in Western populations. Subsequent to the discovery that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, vitamins C and E, along with other antioxidants, were studied as potential therapies for th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecules 2010-11, Vol.15 (11), p.8098-8110
Main Authors: Farbstein, Dan, Kozak-Blickstein, Adena, Levy, Andrew P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
antioxidants
Antioxidants - pharmacology
Antioxidants - therapeutic use
Ascorbic Acid - pharmacology
Ascorbic Acid - therapeutic use
atherosclerosis
Cardiovascular Diseases - prevention & control
Clinical Trials as Topic
CVD
Humans
Oxidative Stress - drug effects
Review
vitamin C
vitamin E
Vitamin E - pharmacology
Vitamin E - therapeutic use
Vitamins - pharmacology
Vitamins - therapeutic use
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Summary:Atherosclerosis remains one of the leading causes of death in Western populations. Subsequent to the discovery that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, vitamins C and E, along with other antioxidants, were studied as potential therapies for the disease. However, while in vitro and in vivo studies showed promising antiatherogenic effects for vitamins C and E, clinical trials in which patients were given high doses of vitamin E or C showed no benefit and even possible harm. This review will attempt to summarize the known mechanistic data regarding the biochemical effects of vitamins C and E and their relevance to atherosclerosis, and offer an explanation for the failure of clinical trials to show that supplementation with these vitamins provides any benefit when given indiscriminately. We provide one example of how pharmacogenomics may be used to identify a sub-population which may indeed benefit from antioxidant supplementation.
ISSN:1420-3049
1420-3049
DOI:10.3390/molecules15118098