Efficacy of vitamin E, phosphatidyl choline, and pyruvate on buffering neuronal degeneration and oxidative stress in cultured cortical neurons and in central nervous tissue of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

Oxidative stress is a pivotal factor in neuronal degeneration. However, vitamin E was only marginally effective in clinical trials. We examined whether or not a mixture of vitamin E (as α-tocopherol), sodium pyruvate and phosphatidyl choline (PC), a mixture that promotes wound healing in non-neuronal systems, would provide neuroprotection beyond that observed with vitamin E alone. Combined treatment with these agents improved survival and neuritic spouting of murine embryonic cortical neurons in culture, and provided neuroprotection against oxidative damage following treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Dietary treatment with these three agents also compensated for the diminished oxidative buffering capacity of brains of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, while vitamin E alone failed to do so. These data underscore the possibility that critical nutritional deficiencies may modulate the impact of genetic compromise on neurodegeneration.