Efficacy of vitamin E supplement for atherosclerosis in patients on chronic hemodialysis

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 1281 - 1285
• Main Authors: Nomoto, Hiroshi, Inui, Hiroyuki, Nishikawa, Osamu, Sonobe, Miyahiko, Ishitani, Seiji, Yukawa, Susumu, Nishide, Iwao, Hibino, Akira, Takuda, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy 1990
• ISSN: 0911-5889; 1884-6211
• DOI: 10.4009/jsdt1985.23.1281

The effect of vitamin E (VE) on atherosclerosis in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis was studied from a clinical point of view. The extent of atherosclerosis was evaluated using the aortic calcification index (ACI) as determined by body CT scan, according to the modified method of Watanabe et al. Thirty-four hemodialysis patients were selected for this study and divided into two groups, a VE-treated group (VE+) and VE-free group (VE-), according to whether or not they received VE therapy. Each group consisted of seventeen patients. They were matched for age, sex and duration of hemodialysis. The levels of serum calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone were not significantly different between the two groups. Ca-antagonists, CaCO3, alumiel and calcitonin were also given in a matched manner. The ACI of VE+ and VE- was 15.6±29.2 and 18.1±24.6, respectively. In the following three years, the increased ACI in VE+ was 2.2±2.9, 3.6±4.1 and 6.1±5.0, respectively, while that of VE- was 7.8±3.2, 12.2±8.4 and 16.5±8.8. These values of VE+ were significantly reduced compared with those of VE- for each point checked. The other parameters such as blood pressure, decreased body weight per hemoialysis, and cephalo-thoraxic ratio showed no significant changes during the observation period and no differences between the two groups. ACI is thought to be an indicator of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the results from this study suggest that VE may be effective for inhibiting the development of atherosclerosis in patients on chronic hemodialysis.