Soy Improves Blood Vessel Function in Stroke Patients

Hong Kong clinical researchers wanted to find out if soy, which contains isoflavone, influences the function of the cells lining the arteries – the endothelium – in stroke patients. They published their findings in the European Heart Journal. In their study, 50 patients who had suffered an ischemic (thrombotic) stroke more than 6 months previously were given 80 mg isoflavone daily; and 52 similar patients were given a placebo. The function of the endothelium was measured in the brachial (upper arm) artery, using a technique called flow-mediated dilatation.

The average age of the subjects was 66; two-thirds of them were men, and half of them had diabetes. The vast majority of them (80%) had impaired endothelial function at baseline. After 12 weeks, those participants taking isoflavone had reduced the frequency of impaired function to 58%; this represents roughly a two-thirds reduction in the prevalence of impaired function.

The isoflavone patients also experienced a significant decrease (1.7 mg/dL) in their C-reactive protein (CRP) blood levels, which might help explain the improvement in endothelial function. All-in-all, the changes with isoflavone were of significant health benefit to the patients who took it. Who knows? It may have prevented a second stroke in some of them.