Researchers Seek the Role of Antioxidants in Apoptosis

Extract

The notion that antioxidants prevent cancer, retard aging, and counteract the ravages of atherosclerotic disease has become so compelling to the general public that sales of two major antioxidants—vitamins C and E—reached $708 million in 1994, according to industry estimates.

Not surprisingly, then, many researchers were inclined to dismiss the 1994 results of the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene trial in Finland as a fluke. That study unexpectedly showed that long-term heavy smokers who took beta carotene were more likely to die of lung cancer than those who took a placebo or vitamin E.

The same surprising pattern was observed in the U.S. Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial. Study subjects, mostly heavy smokers, took beta carotene and vitamin A daily, or a placebo. Lung cancer mortality was 28% higher in the group that got vitamins than in the placebo group.

Resolving Enigmas

The burgeoning field of apoptosis research may eventually resolve these enigmas, some experts say. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an intricately choreographed form of suicide by irretrievably damaged cells, including those already on their way to becoming cancerous. Apoptosis culminates withthe well-organized shredding of the damaged cells' DNA.