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Study suggests vitamin E treatment might improve heart health in hemodialysis patients
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Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit have discovered a potential way to improve the lipid profiles in patients undergoing hemodialysis that may prevent cardiovascular disease common in these patients.
(Latest DOPPS data shows slight dip in hemoglobins for dialysis patients)
The team of researchers discovered that a combination of vitamin E isomers known as tocotrienols improved the patients’ lipid profiles. The study, “Vitamin E tocotrienol supplementation improves lipid profiles in chronic hemodialysis patients,” was published in the journal Vascular Health and Risk Management, and showed that patients in the randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel trial who were given the vitamin E supplement had notable improvement in their lipid profiles compared to those given the placebo.
The hemodialysis patients taking the Vitamin E supplements showed significant improvements in their blood lipid profiles after 12 and 16 weeks of intervention, said study author Pramod Khosla, PhD, associate professor of nutrition & food science in Wayne State University’s College of Liberal Arts and their Triglyceride levels were reduced in this group and HDL cholesterol levels increased, as compared to the placebo group.
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“This study could potentially have positive clinical implications in the future for hemodialysis patients that need to improve their triglyceride and HDL levels, but first these findings need to be verified in a much larger group of subjects. Additionally, we need to tease out the interactive effects of the tocotrienols with various medications that are routinely prescribed to these patients,” said Khosla.
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