According to a new study, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, older adults who take a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant called MitoQ see age-related vascular changes reverse by the equivalent of 15 to 20 years within six weeks.
This new study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting pharmaceutical-grade nutritional supplements (nutraceuticals) could play an important role in preventing heart disease. Image credit: Kelvin Song / CC BY-SA 3.0.
“This is the first clinical trial to assess the impact of a mitochondrial-specific antioxidant on vascular function in humans. It suggests that therapies like this may hold real promise for reducing the risk of age-related cardiovascular disease,” said study lead author Dr. Matthew Rossman, from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
For the study, Dr. Rossman and colleagues recruited 20 healthy men and women (60-79 years) from the Boulder area.
Half took 20 mg per day of MitoQ, made by chemically altering the naturally-occurring antioxidant Coenzyme Q10 to make it cling to mitochondria inside cells. The other half took a placebo.
After six weeks, the scientists assessed how well the lining of blood vessels, or the endothelium, functioned, by measuring how much subjects’ arteries dilated with increased blood flow.
Then, after a two-week ‘wash out’ period of taking nothing, the two groups switched, with the placebo group taking the supplement, and vice versa. The tests were repeated.
The researchers found that when taking the supplement, dilation of subjects’ arteries improved by 42%, making their blood vessels, at least by that measure, look like those of someone 15 to 20 years younger.
“An improvement of that magnitude, if sustained, is associated with about a 13% reduction in heart disease,” Dr. Rossman said.
The study also showed that the improvement in dilation was due to a reduction in oxidative stress.
In participants who, under placebo conditions, had stiffer arteries, supplementation was associated with reduced stiffness.
“Blood vessels grow stiff with age largely as a result of oxidative stress, the excess production of metabolic byproducts called free radicals which can damage the endothelium and impair its function,” Dr. Rossman explained.
“During youth, bodies produce enough antioxidants to quench those free radicals. But with age, the balance tips, as mitochondria and other cellular processes produce excess free radicals and the body’s antioxidant defenses can’t keep up.”
Oral antioxidant supplements like Vitamin C and Vitamin E fell out of favor after studies showed them to be ineffective.
“This study breathes new life into the discredited theory that supplementing the diet with antioxidants can improve health,” said senior author Dr. Doug Seals, also from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“It suggests that targeting a specific source-mitochondria-may be a better way to reduce oxidative stress and improve cardiovascular health with aging.”
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Matthew J. Rossman et al. Chronic Supplementation with a Mitochondrial Antioxidant (MitoQ) Improves Vascular Function in Healthy Older Adults. Hypertension, published April 16, 2018; doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.10787
