Vitamin E slows artery 'aging.' (may reduce arterial plaque)(Brief Article)

Vitamin E appears to be as effective at slowing the accumulation of artery-clogging plaque as smoking is at fostering it, according to the first year of data from a 5-year study of heart risks by researchers at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

The new study correlates the thickness of the inner two layers of a 1-centimeter length of the carotid artery-a gauge of atherosclerotic narrowing-with diet, exercise, age, weight, body fat, smoking, and other risk factors for heart disease in 32 men and 24 women between the ages of 38 and 60.

To date, one of the most striking observations "is an amazingly strong effect of vitamin E," notes Lisa Nicholson, a nutritionist with the study.

Participants who have been taking supplements of the vitamin-on average, about 100 international units per day, or 10 times the recommended daily allowance-exhibit far less plaque buildup than would have been expected on the basis of their age and other factors. Indeed, she says, the supplements appear to have reduced plaque buildup by an amount "equivalent to about 14 years of aging."

Even participants who did not take supplements but who ate foods naturally rich in vitamin E showed dose-related reductions in artery narrowing. These preliminary findings dovetail with results from a trial reported in the March 23 Lancet showing that people with atherosclerosis who took vitamin E supplements for 17 months experienced fewer heart attacks and a lower incidence of death from heart disease.