Resveratrol & Other Effects on Disease
Various studies have shown that resveratrol has effects on other diseases besides cardiovascular disease and cancer. These include benefits for diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, spinal cord injury, and stroke.
Type-2 diabetes is a disease associated with aging and involves the decreased ability of the body to produce insulin, or to respond to insulin. Normally, insulin regulates blood glucose levels, which is why diabetic patients have high blood glucose. In 2007 researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that relatively low doses of resveratrol improve sensitivity to insulin via SIRT1 in mice. In January of 2008 Sirtris Pharmaceuticals claimed that in early-stage clinical trials with humans who have type-2 diabetes, its resveratrol-based drug significantly lowered glucose levels. The patients were administered 2.5 or 5-gram doses of the drug once a day for 28 days. It is the first study that has shown resveratrol’s benefit for humans in treating type-2 diabetes.
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases result from deterioration and damage of neurons, cells in the brain and spinal cord. Patients with Alzheimer’s produce an abnormal peptide known as beta-Amyloid peptide (Abeta) in their brains. It is a neurotoxic substance, provoking oxidative stress, and eventually killing cells during the course of the disease. Researchers from Switzerland in 2003 studied the possible neuroprotective effects of resveratrol against Abeta-induced neurotoxicity in a cell culture model. It was discovered that resveratrol maintains cell viability and exerts an anti-oxidative action by enhancing glutathione, which eliminates intracellular free radicals. In addition, plaque formation from deposits of Abeta is a component of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2008 reported that dietary supplementation with resveratrol caused a significant reduction in plaque formation in mice brains. Resveratrol reduced plaque in sections of the brain including the hypothalamus (-90%), striatum (-89%), and medial cortex (-48%). Yet another study by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers was carried out on mice genetically engineered to experience neurotoxic conditions. It was demonstrated that resveratrol promoted neuronal survival, reduced neurodegeneration, and prevented learning impairment in these animals.
Resveratrol may also have benefits for people who experience spinal cord injury or stroke. Research has shown that resveratrol reduces the inflammatory response in rats with acute spinal cord injury. It works by blocking free radicals as well as inhibiting specific enzymes that change the way cells respond to injury. Furthermore, in research with rats pretreated with resveratrol, the animals presented with less brain damage and less motor damage post-stroke.
