Resveratrol

The potential health benefits of resveratrol are certainly no longer a secret. The naturally occurring compound has been tied to a huge range of health benefits. Among these the compound has shown an ability to fight off deadly, widespread illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Studies performed on mice now also show that resveratrol can be used to combat diabetes.

The core issue for future medical developments has been understanding not just the effects, but the processes that lead to them within the body. Resveratrol actually activates proteins called sirtuins in the body.

These proteins are gaining a somewhat mythical reputation, as they have been found to powerfully stave off many health problems, including diabetes, once they are switched on and pointed in the right direction. Therein lies the trick, with the targeting of sirtuins and the proper activation of them.

For diabetes, there is a particular class of sirtuins located in the brain that control and monitor glucose metabolism, a key issue with diabetes. Therefore researchers at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center delivered resveratrol directly to the brains of mice. The targeted sirtuins were activated, and diabetic symptoms were improved, reducing high blood sugar and insulin levels.

This is a groundbreaking discovery, because it specifically shows the cause and effect process of resveratrol on a specific health problem, rather than just looking at the end result. Therefore instead of taking an all encompassing supplement, drugs can be developed in the future that specifically target sirtuins in the brain for Type 2 Diabetes patients, and those predisposed to the disease.

It also means that more specific work will be done to see which sitruins are activated by resveratrol to cause which effects. It’s a huge step to creating effective, reliable and safe resveratrol drugs that can combat some of the worst health problems on the planet. Thanks to this research at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center, a resveratrol based medication for diabetes that targets sirtuins in the brain is now a real possibility.