Vertigo therapy through antioxidant drugs

Authors

Dr.med. Guillermo O. Bertora (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Dr. med. Julia M. Bergmann (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Proceedings

ASN - Volume 1 - 2003

Topics

Neurootology
Neurootologic therapy
Neurootology
Neurootology
Neurootologic therapy
Pharmacotherapy

Keywords

Antioxidant therapy, Therapy, Treatment, Vertigo.

Download

PDF file, 60kB

Abstract

Living is like getting irradiated. This is because we are constantly exposed to oxidants such as superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radicals, and single oxygen. These reactive oxygen species are generated during normal oxidative metabolism.
Other sources of oxidants to wich we are constantly exposed include our diet, polluted air (particulary from smoking), natural radioctive gases, e.g. radon leaking from soils, and some drugs.
One consequence of this life-long exposure to oxidants is peroxidative damage to lipids in cell membranes and lipoproteins. It is becoming increasingly evident that such peroxidative damage is relevant to many human diseases including atherosclerosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, myocardial reoxygenation injury, and drug-associated toxicity, as well as to the degenerative processes with aging. Preventing lipid peroxidation, therefore, could prove to be a very effective, yet simple, way of preventing these diseases and degenerative processes.
A number of defense mechanisms in the body have evolved to limit the levels of reactive oxygen species and the damage they produce. Vitamin E is considered the first line of defense against lipid peroxidation, protecting polyunsaturated fats in cell membranes from free radical attack through its free radical scavenging im biomembranes at an early stage of lipid peroxidation.
The allowance for vitamin E is complicated by the large variations in susceptibility of dietary and tissue fatty acids to peroxidation an the fact thet inadequacies of vitamin E are not easily demonstrated in healthy adult subjects.
Research has demonstrated that vitamin E may have a beneficial role in improving circulation and prevention of damage associated with these circulatory problems.
Excessive platelet aggregation is a significant factor in development of atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases.
Vitamin E is also believed to stimulate production of prostacyclin, a powerful antiplatelet aggregation substance.
In studies of oral contraceptive users and patients with high blood lipid levels, vitamin E supplementation resulted in a reduction of elevated platelet aggregation rates observed in these groups