Research Database –
International Updates

Cystic Fibrosis

Issue 34

RUST and colleagues, Institut fur Ernahrungwissenschaften, Wien, Austria studied the efficacy of oral beta-carotene supplementation to correct an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in cystic fibrosis (CF).
Methods: The authors studied 24 patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and 14 healthy controls. 13 CF-patients were assigned to a CF-supplementation group, which received 1 mg beta-carotene/kg BW/d up to a body weight (BW) of 50 kg; patients with a BW > 50 kg were given 50 mg beta-carotene/d for 12 weeks. During the following 12 weeks, all patients in the CF-supplementation group received 10 mg beta-carotene/d. The remaining 11 CF-patients received placebos with starch.
Results: Compared to the age-matched control patients, baseline plasma beta-carotene concentrations of CF patients were significantly lower. Beta-carotene concentrations of the CF-supplementation group increased rapidly, reaching a value of 0.6 mumol/l after 12 weeks’ supplementation. Plasma vitamins C and E were normal; plasma vitamin A levels were in the lower normal range and did not increase during supplementation. The total antioxidative capacity in plasma in the CF-supplementation group increased after 12 weeks’ supplementation by 12%. The positive influence was indicated by a decrease of plasma malondialdehyde.
Conclusions: Oral beta-carotene supplementation is effective in normalising status of beta-carotene and malondialdehyde in CF patients.
Rust P et al. Effects of long-term oral beta-carotene supplementation on lipid peroxidation in patients with cystic fibrosis. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 68(2): 83-7. 1998.