Background: Aging is an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, therapies to delay vascular aging may have enormous medical consequences. In this context, vitamin E is of particular interest, mainly because of its antioxidative properties.
Methods and results: In 3-year-old rats, which are not susceptible to atherosclerosis, vitamin E levels, as measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, were markedly increased both in plasma and in major organs (P<0.01 to P<0.0001). The highest increase (at least 70-fold) was found in the aortic wall.
Conclusions: This unexpected accumulation of vitamin E appears to be a compensatory mechanism that attempts to counterbalance age-associated oxidative stress and that may represent a self-regulatory protective adaptation.