14 DAY TRIAL // Several studies carried out over the years have shown that resveratrol, a compound that is naturally occurring in red wine, can help keep people healthy and even fight aging.
Now, a new investigation appears to have found evidence that this compound might also help treat Alzheimer's, a neurodegenerative disease for which science is yet to find a cure.
As part of this latest study into potential new treatments for Alzheimer's, researchers had people already diagnosed with the disease take daily resveratrol supplements or a placebo for a year.
At the end of the study period, the participants who were given the placebo were found to have lower levels of a protein called amyloid-beta40 in their cerebrospinal fluid, a sign that the disease had progressed.
Thus, previous investigations have shown that Alzheimer's correlates with a drop in amyloid-beta40 levels in the cerebrospinal fluid and an increase in the concentration of this protein in the brain.
Since the study participants who were offered resveratrol supplements did not display a drop in the levels of amyloid-beta40 in their cerebrospinal fluid, the research team think this could mean that the red wine compound might help prevent the protein from accumulating in the brain.
To confirm their suspicions, they need to have a look at the brain of the volunteers and confirm that the resveratrol did in fact regulate amyloid-beta40 levels in that it prevented the protein from leaving the cerebrospinal fluid and beginning to build up in the brain.
If the compound is found to prevent amyloid-beta40 buildups in the brain, scientists might manage to engineer it into a new drug for Alzheimer's disease.
“It's showing us a new mechanism, or a new pathway, towards Alzheimer's treatments. This is targeting amyloid in an indirect way,” said researcher Scott Turner, as cited by Live Science.
“I'm not recommending that people go out and buy resveratrol and start taking it,” the Georgetown University specialist nonetheless wished to stress.