title: Mitochondria as possible pharmaceutical targets for the effects of vitamin E and its homologues in oxidative stress-related diseases.
abstract: It is well known that vitamin E functions as an antioxidant, and it is expected to exert an antioxidant effect when taken as a supplement. However, a number of cohort studies have shown that vitamin E does not alleviate oxidative stress and could even worsen it. Recently, Wang et al. investigated whether vitamin E intake was associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) based on data from 5 cohort studies with 1,055,546 participants, of which 805 of them had developed ALS. They concluded in this large pooled prospective study, in which long-term vitamin E supplementation was associated with lower ALS rates, and therefore, a possible protective effect of vitamin E deserves further consideration. Performing further large cohort studies may reveal similar findings for other oxidative stress-related diseases. It is still controversial if antioxidants such as vitamin E provide a clinical therapeutic effect against oxidative stress-related diseases. If effective, the dose at which they should be administered and the duration of supplement exposure should be of interest. Vitamin E reduces production of reactive oxygen species by mitochondria and elicits further reactions in cells. It should be noted that mitochondria are important targets for vitamin E and its homologues. Therefore, a proper usage of vitamin E in subjects under high oxidative stress, due to its individually targeting property, will arise its importance in healthy life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan. hmajima@dent.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hideyuki J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Majima
authors.forename: Hiroko P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Indo
authors.forename: Shigeaki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suenaga
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.forename: Hsiu-Chuan
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ozawa
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014810:Vitamin E; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase