Vitamin E neuroprotective against cisplatin ototoxicity

(HealthDay)—Vitamin E supplementation can reduce cisplatin (CDDP)-induced ototoxicity, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in Head & Neck.

Veronica Villani, M.D., Ph.D., from the Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome, and colleagues examined vitamin E supplementation as a protective agent against CDDP-induced ototoxicity. Twenty-three patients who were affected by solid malignancies and started CDDP were enrolled and randomly allocated to receive vitamin E supplementation at 400 mg per day (13 patients) or placebo (10 patients). At baseline, and after one, two, and three months, audiograms and evoked brainstem responses were obtained.

The researchers identified significant hearing loss at one month in the placebo group at both 2,000 HZ (right ear: P = 0.05; left ear: P = 0.04) and 8,000 HZ (right ear: P = 0.04; left ear: P = 0.03), compared with baseline values. There were no significant changes on audiograms. Evoked brainstem responses were unchanged in both arms at one month, with no significant between-group differences noted.

"These preliminary findings confirm the neuroprotective properties of vitamin E against the CDDP-induced ototoxicity," the authors write.

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