Vitamin E Redirects Blood Flow During Stroke

A form of vitamin E may enable blood vessels in the brain to redirect blood flow around blockages during a stroke to prevent tissue damage, according to new studies.

Normally, stroke patients are treated post-stroke with aspirin (which prevents blood clotting) and more infrequently, with tissue plasminogen activators (the “clot-busting” drug). No stroke-preventing drugs exist at this time, despite over 1000 failed experimental neuroprotective drugs.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Female Survivors Fare Worse After Stroke
Vitamin C May Reduce Stroke Risk
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For this reason, Cameron Rink, MD, of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and colleagues, have spent the past 12 years researching methods of preventing damage before it occurs, rather than treating the symptoms afterward.

Using a technique called laser capture microdissection to study microscopic pieces of brain tissue during a stroke in a series of animal studies, Rink and colleagues examined the effects of tocotrienol, a form of vitamin E found in palm oil, on blood vessels during a stroke.  

After 10 weeks of tocotrienol supplementation, researchers observed arteriogenesis, or changes in the diameter of existing blood vessels surrounding the clot, in response to the need for oxygen. This redirection allowed blood to flow around the clot, creating a “collateral” blood supply and mitigating damage to the brain.

“We know that people who have good collaterals have better recovery from strokes. We think that tocotrienol helps improve the function of collaterals, which would offer someone better protection from an initial or secondary stroke.”

The researchers are currently conducting a study of tocotrienol in stroke survivors to test the effects of supplementation on reducing damage from secondary strokes.

“The animal studies are helping inform the optimal tocotrienol dose and therapeutic window for our human studies, so it’s a great example of how the basic research is informing clinical studies, and helping us move the research forward faster,” Rink concluded.

–Michael Potts

– 

Reference

Brain saver: vitamin E supplement helps “redirect” blood during a stroke [press release]. Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences; Columbus, Ohio: April 29, 2014