Study: Vitamin E could help high blood pressure

High doses of vitamin E significantly reduce high blood pressure in

rats with chronic kidney failure, according to a UCI College of Medicine

study.

Results of the study, released Feb. 13, show the key role a damaging

process called oxidative stress plays in causing high blood pressure. It

also shows how vitamin E and other antioxidants could provide new ways to

treat high blood pressure, especially in patients with kidney disease.

Dr. Nick Vaziri, professor of medicine and chief of nephrology, and

his colleagues found that rats with impaired kidneys produced high levels

of highly reactive chemicals known to cause damage to cells. Antioxidants

such as vitamin E reduced free radical levels and eased the high blood

pressure that accompanied impaired kidney function.

“This study confirms earlier work showing that kidney failure results

in accelerated production of free radicals and demonstrates the

beneficial effect of antioxidants,” Vaziri said. “We hope that future

tests on humans will show how much antioxidants can be used to help ease

high blood pressure and free radical production in kidney disease.”

Vaziri and his team have spent years studying the various biochemical

interactions that lead to kidney failure in an attempt to find better

treatments for the disease.