Vitamin E might help inflammation

[Guest guest]

good read I use vitamin E in my daily supplements along with fish and

flax oil capsules too. I have not noticed that much differance but

just getting all of them back into my body too from the surgery and

been off of them for over a month now back on them 3 weeks. But

just read below and come to your own conclussion. heidi

Vitamin E Shows Possible Promise In Easing Chronic Inflammation

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2008) — With up to half of a person's body mass

consisting of skeletal muscle, chronic inflammation of those muscles –

which include those found in the limbs – can result in significant

physical impairment.

According to University of Illinois kinesiology and community health

professor Huey, past research has demonstrated that the

antioxidant properties of Vitamin E may be associated with reduced

expression of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines, in vitro, in

various types of cells. Cytokines are regulatory proteins that

function as intercellular communicators that assist the immune system

in generating a response.

To consider whether the administration of Vitamin E, in vivo, might

have similar effects on skeletal and cardiac muscle, Huey and a team

of Illinois researchers put Vitamin E to the test in mice. The team

included study designer Rodney , a U. of I. professor of

animal sciences, whose previous work has suggested a possible link,

in mice, between short-term Vitamin E supplementation and reduced

inflammation in the brain.

The study represents the first time researchers have looked at in

vivo effects of Vitamin E administration on local inflammatory

responses in skeletal and cardiac muscle.

In this study, the researchers investigated the effects of prior

administration of Vitamin E in mice that were then injected with a

low dose of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce acute systemic

inflammation. The effects were compared with those found in placebo

control groups.

The research team examined the impact the Vitamin E or placebo

treatment had on the mRNA and protein levels of three cytokines –

interleukin (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-

1beta.

" The mice were administered Vitamin E for three days prior to giving

them what amounts to a minor systemic bacterial infection, " Huey

said. " One thing we did – in addition to (looking at) the cytokines –

was to look, in the muscle, at the amount of oxidized proteins.

" Oxidation can be detrimental, and in muscle has been associated with

reduced muscle strength, " Huey said.

Among the team's major findings, in terms of function, Huey said, was

that " there was a significant reduction in the amount of LPS-induced

oxidized proteins with Vitamin E compared to placebo. "

" So that's a good thing, " she said. " Potentially, if you reduce the

oxidized proteins, that may correlate to increased muscle strength. "

Additionally, the researchers' experiments yielded a significant

decrease in two cytokines – IL-6 and IL-1beta – with Vitamin E,

compared with the placebo.

That finding translates to somewhat mixed reviews.

" It's hard to say functionally what those cytokine changes might

mean, " Huey said. " IL-1beta is primarily a pro-inflammatory cytokine,

so that could be a good thing – especially in terms of cardiac

function. "

However, she said, " IL-6 can have both pro- or anti-inflammatory

actions. " She said that the literature has yielded some evidence

pointing to the detrimental effects of chronic increases in IL-6. But

the effects of acute increases in IL-6 in skeletal muscles – which

occur during exercise – may be another story.

" Whether there's a difference between exercise-induced increases

versus inflammation-induced increases in IL-6 is still highly

debatable, " she said.

Nonetheless, Huey said, the larger take-home message of the study,

published in the December issue of the journal Experimental

Physiology, is that Vitamin E " may be beneficial in individuals with

chronic inflammation, such as the elderly or patients with type II

diabetes or chronic heart failure. "

While the Illinois research team's work provides a foundation for

future investigations that could ultimately have positive outcomes

for people afflicted with chronic skeletal or cardiac muscle

inflammation, Huey cautioned that it is still far too soon to

speculate on results in humans.

" This is clearly an animal model so whether it would translate to

humans still requires a lot more research, " she said. " Vitamin E is a

supplement that is already approved, and these results may suggest an

additional benefit of taking Vitamin E beyond what's already been

shown. "

In addition to Huey and , other members of the research team

included undergraduate student Fiscus, graduate student Ben

Meador and former graduate student Amy Richwine.

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Adapted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-

Champaign.