Famine From Feast: Linking Vitamin C, Red Blood Cell Fragility, and Diabetes

Study Summary

Diabetes type two is a debilitating disease that leads to chronic morbidity such as accelerated microvascular disease. Accelerated microvascular disease may produce blindness, end stage renal disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and limb ischemia. Strategies to prevent or delay microvascular disease have the potential to improve the lives of millions and prevent catastrophic illness. The major focus of prevention of microvascular disease in diabetes has been on the endothelium and its role in protection of blood vessels. An unexpected means to prevent microvascular disease in diabetes may be coupled to the function of vitamin C in red blood cells (RBCs) of diabetic subjects. Based on new and emerging data, vitamin C concentrations in RBCs may be inversely related to glucose concentrations found in diabetes. Based on animal data, we hypothesize that RBCs with low vitamin C levels may have decreased deformability, leading to slower flow in capillaries and microvascular hypoxia, the hallmark of diabetic microangiopathy. Low vitamin C concentrations in RBCs of diabetic subjects may be able to be increased, by using vitamin C supplements. Findings in animals may not accurately reflect effects in humans because of species differences in mechanisms of vitamin C entry into RBCs. Therefore, clinical research is essential to characterize vitamin C physiology in RBCs of diabetic subjects. In this protocol we will investigate physiology of vitamin C in RBCs of diabetic subjects as a function of glycemia, without vitamin C supplementation (stage 1) and with vitamin C supplementation (stage 2). We will screen type II diabetic subjects on insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic medication(s) and select those with hemoglobin A1C concentrations of less than or equal to 12%. Selected subjects may be hospitalized twice, each time for approximately one week. The primary objective of the first hospitalization (stage 1) will be to evaluate the effect of hyperglycemia on vitamin C RBC physiol

Primary Outcome

Difference in mean AUC for RBC deformability half maximal shear stress (SS0.5) from baseline to the 8-week follow-up visit, using controlled hyperglycemia conditions (glucose 200-400 mg/dL). The insulin regimen will be withheld to produce controlled hyperglycemia \< 400 mg/dl. Subjects were provided a high carbohydrate diet (70-75% carbohydrate) on the day of hyperglycemia. During the hyperglycemic condition, blood samples will be drawn every one to two hours for RBC deformability measurements,

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT Vitamin C
• DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT Vitamin E

Study Locations (1)