May 20, 2005 issue of AIDS that addition of vitamin

itamin E plays a role in metabolism and proper immune function, and laboratory studies suggest it has an antiviral effect. For example, Alonso Heredia, PhD, from the University of Maryland and colleagues reported in the May 20, 2005 issue of AIDS that addition of vitamin E to cell cultures from 10 HIV positive individuals significantly reduced HIV production, as indicated by p24 antigen levels. The authors suggested that supplementation might slow HIV replication enough to inhibit the emergence of drug-resistant virus in resting cells and to delay viral rebound after treatment interruption. But while low (or decreasing) levels of vitamin E have been linked to CD4 cell declines and HIV disease progression, this does not imply causality.

The jury is still out on the benefits and risks of high-dose vitamin E supplementation, but data from recent large studies in the HIV negative population do not look good. In the Women's Health Study (a primary prevention trial that included nearly 40,000 healthy, HIV negative women), subjects randomly assigned to receive 600 IU of vitamin E every other day not only did not have reduced rates of cancer or cardiovascular disease relative to women in the placebo arm, but actually showed a nonsignificant increase in total mortality. Results of a meta-analysis of 19 clinical trials with a total of nearly 136,000 subjects published in the January 4, 2004 Annals of Internal Medicine led authors Edgar Miller, MD, and colleagues to conclude that, "High-dosage [400 IU or more daily] vitamin E supplements may increase all-cause mortality and should be avoided." In the absence of large controlled studies in the HIV positive population, the same advice is sound for people with HIV/AIDS as well.