Effect of long-term Vitamin C intake on vascular endothelial function in diabetic children and adolescents: A pilot study

BACKGROUND: This study attempted to determine the effects of long-term use of Vitamin C on vascular endothelial function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During a pilot clinical trial study conducted at Imam Hussein Hospital (Isfahan) in 2014–2015, a total of forty diabetic patients were selected and then assigned randomly into two twenty-subject groups receiving Vitamin C and placebo tablets. The patients were treated with Vitamin C or placebo for 6 months. All patients were examined through echocardiography in terms of cardiac function before and after treatment. To evaluate the endothelial function (flow-mediated dilatation [FMD], intima-media thickness), they underwent arterial Doppler. Moreover, the chemical indices of vascular function were tested through intercellular adhesion molecule and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM). Finally, the results were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Based on the results, the mean left ventricular mass significantly reduced after the intervention in the group treated with Vitamin C (from 76.35 ± 25.6–68.62 ± 22.66; P = 0.015) while there was no significant difference observed in the control group (from 67.58 ± 25.38–71.63 ± 26.84; P = 0.19) but no statistically difference between the two groups-based repeated measures ANOVA test (P = 0.6). In addition, the mean of VCAM changes was significantly difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Long-term use of Vitamin C in diabetic patients can improve certain echocardiographic parameters such as ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and FMD, which in turn enhances vascular endothelial function.