Vitamin C blocks vascular dysfunctionIn case you did not yet know how great Vitamin C is in protecting blood vessels or how it works, this is more documentation.
Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
http://www.gordonresearch.com Topic: ATHEROSCLEROSIS, VASCULAR FUNCTION - Vitamin C
Title:
Vitamin C May Help Prevent Vascular Dysfunction Reference: Vitamin C blocks vascular dysfunction and release of interleukin-6 induced by endothelin-1 in humans in vivo,โ€ Bohm F, Settergren M, Pernow J, Atherosclerosis, 2006 March 7 [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden).
Summary: In a study involving 12 healthy young males, pre-treatment with vitamin C was found to inhibit the negative effects brought on by administration of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a pro-inflammatory agent which contributes to endothelial dysfunction. Measurements of forearm blood flow (FBF), determined using venous occlusion plethysmography, found decreases in both endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation following intra-brachial infusion of ET-1 (20 pmol/min). In addition, venous levels of IL-6 increased from 0.96 ng/ml before, to 1.40 ng/ml after administration of ET-1. When vitamin C was given at a dose of 24 mg/min following the ET-1 infusion, vascular function did not improve. However, when vitamin C was given BEFORE the ET-1 infusion, the decreases in endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation were prevented, as was the increase in IL-6. When noradrenaline a controlled vasoconstrictor was infused into subjects at a dose of 80 ng/min for 30 minutes, IL- 6 levels were not affected. Given the effects of pre-treatment with the antioxidant vitamin C, these results suggest that the mechanism by which ET-1 impairs vascular function and stimulates the release of IL-6 may involve an increase in oxidative stress. This study suggests that antioxidants such as vitamin C may play a role in preventing endothelial dysfunction and thereby helping to prevent the development of atherosclerosis.
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