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1: Med Hypotheses. 2007;69(2):325-32. Epub 2007 Jan 16.Click here to read Links

Oster rediscovered--mega-dose folate for symptomatic atherosclerosis.

McCarty MF.

NutriGuard Research, 1051 Hermes Avenue, Encinitas, CA 92024, United States. mccarty@pantox.com <mccarty@pantox.com>

Thirty years ago, Kurt Oster promulgated the avant-garde theory that bovine xanthine oxidase, absorbed intact from homogenized milk, promoted atherogenesis by oxidatively damaging membrane plasmalogens. Under the mistaken impression that folic acid is a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, he administered high-dose folate (80 mg daily) to hundreds of patients afflicted with symptomatic atherosclerosis, and reported marked improvements in angina, intermittent claudication, and wound healing; he also suspected that this regimen was decreasing heart attack risk. The xanthine oxidase theory has since fallen by the wayside, but there is now evidence that folic acid can lessen endothelial oxidative stress by improving the function of "uncoupled" nitric oxide synthase deficient in tetrahydrobiopterin. In light of these new findings, a properly controlled assessment of Oster's mega-dose folate therapy is warranted.

Personal Name as Subject:
Oster K

PMID: 17224245 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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  • Folic Acid (Folvite® )

    Folic acid is used to treat or prevent folic acid deficiency. It is a B-complex vitamin needed by the body to manufacture red blood cells. A deficiency of this vitamin causes certain types of anemia (low red blood cell c...

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