Vitamin E and Mouse Research

[Guest guest]

(Note: my Dr. has had me on 1000mg of Vit. E a day for 5 years now. I do

think it has helped me. The word " ataxia " means balance and

coordination...certainly relates to me and my CMT) Article relates to

neurological + neurodegenerative diseases. ~ G

Vitamin E Supplementation Prevents Ataxia in Mouse Model

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 17 - Treatment with alpha-tocopherol in

mice that lack the alpha-tocopherol transfer protein (alpha-TTP), and

are therefore vitamin E deficient, prevents the development of ataxia,

Japanese researchers report in the December 18th issue of the

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Within the first year of life, these alpha-TTP deficient mice developed

ataxia and retinal degeneration, which became worse as the mice aged,

the investigators note. In contrast, disabilities that developed in

wild-type mice that were feed an alpha-tocopherol-deficient diet did not

differ significantly from wild-type mice that were feed a normal diet.

When alpha-TTP deficient mice were given low-dose alpha-tocopherol

supplementation, lipid peroxidation was suppressed almost completely,

preventing the development of

AVED. " The disappearance of neurological symptoms in alpha-TTP deficient

mice by alpha-tocopherol supplementation indicates that a small increase

in alpha-tocopherol in the brain (10-20% of wild-type mean value) is

sufficient to prevent the

development of symptoms, " Dr. Yokota's group concludes.

These alpha-TTP knockout mice, " are the first animal model of a

late-onset, slowly progressive neuronal degeneration caused by chronic

oxidative stress, " the Japanese team notes. This animal model " should

prove useful for investigating the

mechanisms of neuronal degeneration and other age-related

neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease by crossing it with

other transgenic or knockout mice of the

disease. "

Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2001;98:15185-15190.