The disease often damages blood vessels, and this can lead to heart disease, amputation, kidney disease and blindness.

In the first ever trial with humans, researchers discovered that high-dose vitamin C and other antioxidants could repair damaged blood vessels. The vitamin was injected into the patients.

The researchers, from the University of Warwick, are now going to test the therapy on people with type 2 diabetes, the ‘lifestyle’ disease.

Because they were working with very high doses given intravenously, the researchers doubt that standard over-the-counter vitamin C tablets would have the same beneficial effects.

(Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2009; doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-0762).