The effect of vitamin E on haemolysis in paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria: in vitro and in vivo studies.

The administration of vitamin E, a natural antioxidant, to a patient with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) failed to diminish the urinary excretion of 59-Fe as monitored by 59-Fe whole body counting and urinary loss of isotope. However, in vitro vitamin E corrected the increased sensitivity of PNH red cells to haemolysis by hydrogen peroxide. These results support the concept that the susceptibility of PNH red cells to lipid peroxidation is an in vitro phenomenon bearing little relation to the mechanism of in vivo haemolysis.