Red Wine, an Efficient Weapon against Alzheimer's

After discovering Bryostatin’s benefic effects on Alzheimer’s, the researchers announced that the red wine might also be an efficient remedy.

A new study shows that resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine, lowers the levels of the amyloid-beta peptides, which are responsible for the disease.

"Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol occurring in abundance in several plants, including grapes, berries and peanuts. The polyphenol is found in high concentrations in red wines. The highest concentration of resveratrol has been reported in wines prepared from Pinot Noir grapes", explains study author Philippe Marambaud.

One of the characteristic features of Alzheimer’s disease is the deposition of amyloid-beta peptides in the brain. Philippe Marambaud and his colleagues at the Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders in Manhasset, New York, administered resveratrol to cells which produce human amyloid-beta and tested the compound’s effectiveness by monitoring amyloid-beta levels inside and outside the cells.

They found that levels of amyloid-beta in the treated cells were much lower than those in untreated cells.

However, the discovery doesn’t imply that grapes alone constitute a remedy for Alzheimer’s, the likelihood that the concentrations of resveratrol in the fruit are insufficient high.

Following up on their studies, Marambaud and his colleagues are trying to figure out how resveratrol exerts its effects in order to develop similar compounds to use in fighting Alzheimer’s disease.

"Our long-term goal is now to elucidate the exact molecular mechanisms involved in the beneficial properties of resveratrol as a necessary prerequisite to the identification of novel molecular targets and therapeutic approaches", said Dr. Marambaud.


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