TITLE:
The Role of Vitamin E in Cerebral Hypoxia: An Ultrastructural Study
AUTHORS:
Essam Eldin A. Salama, Ali Hassan A. Ali, Abdullah M. Aldahmash, Saeed M. Abou El Makarem, Tarek A. El Ghamrawy, Gamal M. Aboulhassan, Hisham Alkhalidi, Mohammed Mubarak
KEYWORDS:
Hypoxia; Vitamin E; Ischemia
JOURNAL NAME:
Surgical Science,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: Hypoxia, due to impaired cerebral blood flow,
has hazardous effects on brain structure and function. To minimize as much as possible
the neurological consequences from hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury, neuro-protective
strategies are urgently required. Vitamin E has been shown
to have protective effects against cerebral ischemia, possibly due to its anti-oxidant
effects. Thirty albino rats, of both
sexes, were obtained from the animal house at King
Khalid University
Hospital, King Saud University. They were divided into three
groups; each included 10 animals: Group A was considered as a control one, animals
of Group B were subjected to a permanent link to the carotid arteries on both sides
and animals of Group C underwent permanent link to carotid arteries on both sides
and concomitantly were given Vitamin E as an anti-oxidant. Animals of Group C were
injected by Vitamin E (equivalent to 15 mg/day), into the peritoneal cavity as a
single dose for a week and after the prescribed period the mice were sacrificed
under deep anesthesia and their brains were extracted and prepared for an electron
microscopic study of brain tissue. Specimens from animals of Group B showed a large
number of neurons that had been deteriorated. Mitochondria were the most affected
organelles. There were a large number of dark cells which probably resulted from
shrunken nerve cells and exhibited opaque nuclei. The number of affected nerve cells
was much lower in brain tissues from animals of the Group C which revealed absence
of dark cells. The study did not disclose any similar changes in brain tissues of
the control group animals. Our results suggested that treatment with Vitamin E after
hypoxia-ischemia led to a neuro-protective effect that appeared in reduction of
cell death of neurons. Thus, the present study provides an evidence that Vitamin
E protects the brain tissue of the consequences of hypoxia caused by ischemia in
the tested experimental animals. It could be recommended in the treatment of cerebrovascular
stroke and neurodegenerative diseases.