A new study suggests that the nutritional supplement vitamin E can protect a patients brain after they suffer a stroke.
Researchers from the Ohio State University revealed that a specific kind of vitamin E can help prevent cells from dying after a stroke, according to findings published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.
Vitamin E can be found in eight different forms. However, it was tocotrienol, or TCT, that was used for this study.
“We have studied an enzyme that is present all the time, but one that is activated after a stroke in a way that causes neurodegeneration,” explained the studys senior author Chandan Sen. “We found that it can be put in check by very low levels of tocotrienol. So what we have here is a naturally derived nutrient, rather than a drug, that provides this beneficial impact.”
After suffering from the ailment, an excessive level of glutamate is released in the brain, which can ultimately kill brain cells and release fatty acids. It was determined that the nutritional supplement could serve as a therapeutic way to prevent the brain from becoming damaged from the stroke.
Vitamin E can decrease the release of the fatty acids by 60 percent, which can ultimately help the brain.