This study was designed to examine the hypothesis that dl-alpha-
tocopheryl acetate (
vitamin E) increases the level of
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) with a concomitant decrease of the ratio of total
cholesterol/HDLC and a resultant amelioration of the coronary risk profile.
Vitamin E (500 IU/day) or placebo were administered under double-blind randomized allocation to 69 hypercholesterolemic patients for 3 months. Sixty patients completed the study (30 in the active treatment group and 30 in the placebo group).
Vitamin E raised the mean level of HDLC from 1.39 +/- 0.38 (SD) to 1.58 +/- 0.41 mmol, a 13.6% increase. This increase significantly (P less than 0.05) exceeded a parallel smaller increase of only 0.05 mmol (3.8%) in the placebo group. As total
cholesterol (TC) declined by similar proportions in the
vitamin E (7.8%) and placebo (9.4%) groups, a concomitant reduction of 23% in the TC/HDLC ratio was achieved in the
vitamin E group, significantly exceeding a 9.1% reduction under placebo. Significant beneficial effects were noted on
apolipoprotein (
Apo) A (which rose) and
Apo B (which declined). An increase of
Apo A/
Apo B ratio by 17.9% was observed only in the
vitamin E group. These results suggest that the
oral administration of
vitamin E (500 IU/day) is beneficial in
hyperlipoproteinemia and offers a potential tool for treating the increased
coronary heart disease risk.