Extra Doses of Vitamins C, E Don't Guard AgainstPreeclampsia

Extra Doses of Vitamins C, E Don't Guard AgainstPreeclampsia
FRIDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Taking extra doses ofvitamins E and C doesn't reduce the chances of the blood pressure disorderpreeclampsia in women who are at risk for the dangerous pregnancycomplication, a new report finds.
The study casts real doubt on the effectiveness of this regimen inpreventing preeclampsia, said study author Dr. Joseph A. Spinnato II, aprofessor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of CincinnatiCollege of Medicine. "There were those that were arguing that the evidencewas enough prior to our publication, so I think this is added weight," hesaid.
There may be other avenues of hope, however.
"The article was compelling and a little disappointing, but the authorsleft us with an out at the end of the article, that perhaps we shouldn'tgive E and C at the same time because the E might negate the C," said Dr.Miriam Greene, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NewYork University School of Medicine in New York City. "You can continue andtry to do the two separately. They did prove that the drugs weresafe."
The findings appears in the December issue of Obstetrics &Gynecology.
Preeclampsia, which occurs in about 5 percent of all pregnant women inthe United States, can lead to sudden high blood pressure and irregularblood flow. This can activate platelets and the clotting system, which inturn slows blood flow further.
Risk factors for preeclampsia include: first pregnancy, 10 years sinceprevious pregnancy, carrying multiple fetuses, being overweight, beingunder 20 or over 35, or having a history of high blood pressure, diabetes,kidney disease, lupus or preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy, accordingto the March of Dimes.
At present, medical professionals have no clear guidance on how toprevent this potentially fatal condition.
"We don't have a good way to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia,except in calcium-deficient populations and those tend not to be in theU.S.," Spinnato said. "There is some evidence that still supports the useof baby aspirin among patients at risk, but even that is argued prettyheavily."
An Australian study published last year also found no benefit tovitamin C and E supplementation.
The current study involved 707 women at four Brazilian sites who werein their second trimester of pregnancy and who had chronic hypertension ora prior history of preeclampsia.
The women were randomly assigned to receive 1,000 milligrams of vitaminC with 400 International Units of vitamin E or a placebo daily.
The rate of preeclampsia was 13.8 percent in the vitamin group and 15.6percent in placebo group, which was not a statistically significantdifference.
There appeared to be no harmful effects on the fetus, a finding echoedin previous trials.
But this study had one surprise finding: more frequent prematurerupture of membranes among women taking vitamins. "That was completelyunexpected," said Spinnato, who is following up on the finding.
Other than the possibility that vitamin E is canceling out vitamin C,there is no clear explanation for why the combination didn't work.
"One of the continuing challenges to vitamin supplementation as ageneral thing is getting it from leafy vegetables is different thangetting it from a pill," Spinnato said. "There are also those who arguethat we didn't start [giving the vitamins] early enough, but that argumentis difficult to swallow. There are medical and legal ramifications evenfor vitamins."
More information
To learn more about preeclampsia, visit the Marchof Dimes.