
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993                   TAG: 9305020011
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

RESEARCHERS SAY VITAMIN E PROTECTS AGAINST CHOLESTEROL

High doses of vitamin E lower the risks of heart disease by helping to neutralize the "bad" kind of cholesterol, but vitamin C has no such effect, researchers reported Saturday.

University of Minnesota scientists said that a study of patients taking supplements of both vitamin E and vitamin C showed that only E was able to keep low-density lipoproteins (LDL), the so-called "bad" cholesterol, from turning into a killer chemical that attacks the inside of arteries.

Dr. Jozsef Balla, in a paper delivered at a national meeting of clinical researchers, said that LDL cholesterol does its mischief when it is oxidized in the bloodstream and actually becomes toxic to the cells lining arteries.

Laboratory tests with oxidized LDL, he said, showed that the bad cholesterol is toxic when placed in culture with cells taken from the lining of arteries. The oxidized LDL actually killed 40 percent to 50 percent of the artery cells it touched, he said.

In the body, this would cause wounds inside the arteries and lead to a buildup of plaques. This process is part of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, a condition that can lead to heart attack or stroke.

Earlier studies suggested that both vitamin E and vitamin C could prevent the LDL cholesterol from becoming toxic.

But Balla and his colleagues, Dr. Gregory M. Vercellotti and Dr. Harry Jacob, said that blood tests run over six weeks on 10 men who took vitamin supplements showed that only vitamin E was protective.

Jacob said tests showed that after just a few days of taking 400 to 800 international units of vitamin E daily, the LDLs in patients' bloodstreams were no longer able to damage arteries. Vitamin C, he said, did not provide the same protection.

"LDLs with vitamin E were much harder to oxidize," said Jacob. "It could not kill the vascular wall cells. We found no such effects on the vascular wall cells for vitamin C."

The protective effects of vitamin E quickly disappeared if patients stopped taking the supplement. The daily intake recommended by the federal government is 25 international units, but Vercellotti said it takes at least 400 IUs.

Earlier studies have shown that vegetarians, who load their diet with leafy greens rich in vitamin E, seem to have an LDL that is resistant to oxidation, Vercellotti said.

by CNB