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Antioxidants Vitamin C And Vitamin E For The Prevention Of Pre-eclampsia - A Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$696,750.00
Summary
Women who develop hypertension in pregnancy have a higher risk of complications in pregnancy and their babies are often born smaller than average and earlier. An initial trial to women at high risk of pre-eclampsia suggest that vitamin C and vitmin E supplements may decrease both reduce the risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy and the risk of the infant being born small for dates. These encouraging results need assessment in the Australian population. This study assesses the value of wom ....Women who develop hypertension in pregnancy have a higher risk of complications in pregnancy and their babies are often born smaller than average and earlier. An initial trial to women at high risk of pre-eclampsia suggest that vitamin C and vitmin E supplements may decrease both reduce the risk of developing hypertension in pregnancy and the risk of the infant being born small for dates. These encouraging results need assessment in the Australian population. This study assesses the value of women taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements during the antenatal period to decrease the risk of developing hypertension during pregnancy and poor fetal growth. Such an easy and inexpensive therapy, if effective, would be an important advance.Read moreRead less
Identifying The Mechanisms By Which Ascorbate Stimulates Cellular Iron Uptake From Transferrin.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$302,123.00
Summary
Vitamin C (ascorbate)-deficiency leads to anaemia and other symptoms of scurvy. Iron supplementation cannot alone correct this anaemia, with ascorbate being crucial. Almost all iron in plasma is bound to transferrin, and I have recent data showing that ascorbate stimulates transferrin-iron uptake. This research will identify how this stimulation occurs. This work has important biomedical implications for understanding iron uptake and anaemia, which affects 500 million people globally.
While is important to prevent vitamin D deficiency, controversies exist about optimal vitamin D intakes and concentrations. Our aim is to evaluate safety concerns with dosages of vitamin D which are routinely promoted for unsupervised public use with over the counter products. We will do this by evaluating long-term health effects for infant vitamin D supplementation, and by using a genetic approach to evaluate the causal effects of high vitamin D and calcium concentrations.
According to current National Heart Foundation surveys high blood pressure affects almost 3 million Australians, and accounts for about 6% of the total burden of disease. Unless effectively treated, high blood pressure may result in serious complications such as stroke, heart attacks and heart failure. Despite the fact that there are now many effective blood pressure-lowering medications available, blood pressure control in the community is often poor. The cause of high blood pressure in most pe ....According to current National Heart Foundation surveys high blood pressure affects almost 3 million Australians, and accounts for about 6% of the total burden of disease. Unless effectively treated, high blood pressure may result in serious complications such as stroke, heart attacks and heart failure. Despite the fact that there are now many effective blood pressure-lowering medications available, blood pressure control in the community is often poor. The cause of high blood pressure in most people is unknown, but there is consistent information from population studies that low vitamin C intake is associated with high blood pressure. Recently, it has been shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can lower blood pressure. We recently demonstrated in a small study that vitamin C tablets for one month lowered blood pressure, suggesting that vitamin C was the key beneficial element of the fruit and vegetable diet. Interestingly, some recent work suggests that the recommended daily allowances of vitamin C are less than a third of what they need to be to get effective levels of vitamin C in body tissues. Studies in animal models of high blood pressure have shown that oxidant levels are increased. This can affect the ability of blood vessels to relax, and may be a cause, rather than a result of high blood pressure. It seems possible that vitamin C (a strong antioxidant) may be having its beneficial effect by reducing 'oxidant stress' in blood and blood vessel walls. The purpose of this project is to further determine the effect of oxidants and antioxidants (specifically vitamin C) on blood pressure and blood vessel function in patients with high blood pressure. It is clearly prudent to eat a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, but it is important that we understand why this is so, and whether specific dietary components are critical. Vitamin C might potentially make a major impact on the presence and severity of high blood pressure in the Australian community.Read moreRead less