UEA researchers looking for volunteers in Vitamin C trial
There's hope that a vitamin C supplement could keeping older people mobile and independent for longer
Researchers at the University of East Anglia are looking for women over 65, who don’t often eat their five-a-day often, exercise much or smoke- to take part in a new trial.
It's as part of a new investigation into whether increasing how much Vitamin C this group of people have, could help them maintain healthy muscles.
There's hope that a vitamin C supplement could keeping older people mobile and independent for longer.
“We want to find out whether vitamin C could help protect our muscles as we age”
Professor Ailsa Welch is from the Norwich Medical School:
“As people get older, they lose muscle tissue and they become weaker. Over time, this can make it more difficult to remain mobile and independent, which can affect people’s ability to carry out basic activities of daily living.
“Vitamin C helps our body absorb iron and is great for the immune system, among other things.
“There is also growing evidence that it may protect the cells in our bodies from damage due to injury, inflammation, and the ageing process.
“We want to find out whether vitamin C could help protect our muscles as we age.”
"We are looking for people who don’t consume much vitamin C-rich foods or exercise regularly so we can test whether increasing your vitamin C intake has a beneficial effect on muscles.
“We are focusing on women as our previous research has suggested that vitamin C may be more important for muscle health in women than men.”
Participants should be otherwise healthy, and not currently taking vitamin C supplements.
What will those who volunteer in the work have to do?
They will be given either a daily vitamin C tablet, or a placebo, for a total of 12 weeks. The trial itself will last 16 weeks and there'll be a four week gap in the middle
They will also take part in strength and grip tests, an MRI scan, and blood tests - during three visits to the Clinical Research Facility at the Quadram Institute and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) – both on the Norwich Research Park.
The science behind the theory:
One of the reasons that our muscles get weaker as we get older is that the mitochondria within muscles also age and work less efficiently.
Mitochondria are like engines inside our muscles, providing energy to fuel movement.
As mitochondria age, they produce less energy and can also produce compounds called oxidants. Oxidants can cause inflammation and can damage our muscles and the mitochondria themselves.
“What we are hoping to see is that taking a vitamin C supplement, which is an anti-oxidant, will help our muscles, and the mitochondria within them, work more efficiently,” said Prof Welch.
To find out more about taking part, please contact:
Miss Jamie Scott or Prof Ailsa Welch
VICS Study, University of East Anglia, Norwich Medical School, NR4 7TJ
Telephone: 01603 591074
Email: MED.VICS@uea.ac.uk
Study title:
A study on the effect of vitamin C on muscle health in older women (VICS)