Vitamin E Reduces Stroke Damage

Vitamin E could help reduce or even prevent brain damage that normally occurs during a stroke, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, reportedly set out to see if they could find a way to prevent stroke damage while it is happening, rather than simply treat symptoms in the aftermath.

In a series of animal studies involving tocotrienol supplements -- a type of vitamin E found in palm oil-- researchers were able to determine that vitamin E treatments can be used to dilate the blood vessels, according to a press release through  Ohio State University's Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).

Strokes are caused by a blockage of blood flow in the brain usually caused by clots of fatty build-up, depriving the brain of oxygen and resulting in brain cell death and brain function inhibition. Often, brains do not recover well from this sort of injury, resulting in permanent cognition and motor function impairment.

Treatments designed to treat the aftermaths of a stroke work to dissolve these clots, renewing blood flow and aiding recovery, However, the work too slowly to prevent damage when it is happening.

However, according to the CCTS release, researchers have determined that dilating the blood vessels in the brain can help reduce stroke damage by redirecting blood flow around the blockage. In this ways, blood flow, while limited, is not halted entirely, minimal sing damage done by the stroke. The researchers also found that dilated vessels help prevent strokes in the first place, as wider vessels make it harder for fatty-cells to build up and block blood flow entirely.

According to the OSCCTS release, Ohio State researchers are in the midst of conducting a study on the effects of a tocotrienol treatment in stroke survivors, seeing if they can help prevent secondary strokes, which are often more damaging than the first. It is the hope of the authors that specially designed vitamin E treatments may one day be used much like aspirin is recommended for people feeling the onset of a heart attack.

The Ohio State University CCTS release was published on April 29.