PROSTATE CANCER, STROKE

Prostate cancer––this study is looking at the role of zinc in prostate cancer cells.  Zinc in normal prostate cells is high and in prostate cancer cells is low.  Research for many years had shown that taking supplemental zinc in a diet does not raise the level within the cells.  In this particular study the researchers elected to use  zinc supplements in addition to resveratrol which did indeed raise the level of zinc within prostate cells returning to them the natural resistance to cancer changes which did occur in prostate cells with high zinc.  This is yet another reason why resveratrol can help prevent the onset of prostate cancer in men at high risk.  PMID 24866157

Stroke––At the University of Florida in Gainesville this study was done using mice half of which were on resveratrol.  As with other similar studies a stroke was induced by clamping off an artery to the brain.  Afterwards the amount of loss of brain tissue was measured.  In the resveratrol group the volume of brain injury was less.  There was a definite neuro protective effect as a result of being on resveratrol prior to the stroke.  PMID23758534

Stroke–this paper is a study from a medical University in Korea discussing the use of resveratrol in patients given after a stroke.  This also was a mouse study but none of these subjects  were pretreated.  A stroke was induced in all of them in by clamping an artery to the brain.  One third were given no treatment.  One third was given resveratrol 3 hours after the artificial stroke and the final third was given resveratrol 6 hours after the artificial stroke.  In both groups with resveratrol given after the stroke there was dramatically smaller infarct volume and a marked increase in early healing and new vessel formation.  This was a beneficial effect that was achieved after the injury rather than before.  PMID 20655115

Until Next Time, 

Dr. Bob

ALZHEIMERS

Welcome again to our blog.  Since the last one was written 200 particles in medical journals have been published on resveratrol.  This month we will focus on Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's--from the School of Medicine in Qingdao University, China comes a report looking at resveratrol as a therapeutic alternative to existing treatments for Alzheimer's.  One of the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease is protein being deposited in brain tissue in an abnormal fashion.  This group summarizes the many studies that have been done showing the neuro protective effects of resveratrol and specifically focusing on the protein deposition.  It does prevent that process and in turn prevents progression of typical Alzheimer's brains in experimental animals.  PMID 25525597

Alzheimer's--from the Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York comes another article reviewing the benefits of resveratrol.  They state that 1 in 10 Americans have Alzheimer's changes over the age of 65 and almost half of all Americans have them over the age of 85.  While there are many heart attack or cancer survivors, there are no Alzheimer's disease survivors.  The point to the growing evidence of resveratrol  shows that it has a beneficial influence in slowing  down the progression of Alzheimer's disease.  In addition to Alzheimer's,  it also has a neuro protective effect against other disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.  Studies within the last few years are showing a growing evidence of a positive impact that resveratrol is having on the treatment of Alzheimer's.  PMID 25315300

Alzheimer's--this paper was written at McGill University in Montréal.  It showed that in low to moderate red wine consumption (a source of resveratrol) there appeared to be a reduction in age related neurologic disorders including macular degeneration, stroke, and learning deficits and memory deficits with or without dementia.  It increases the clearance of the abnormal proteins that are deposited as a key feature of Alzheimer's.  This also is a review article on clinical studies and is a part of a larger study on resveratrol.  PMID25281824

Alzheimer's--this is a paper written from the University of Barcelona in Spain on familial Alzheimer's disease using a mouse model.  It was looking at the deposition of the abnormal protein in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's mice which is called amyloid beta protein.  Long-term use of resveratrol significantly prevented memory loss and decreases  the amount of amyloid deposited in the brain tissue, thus providing a protective effect against Alzheimer's symptoms progression, and improving memory.  PMID 25024312

Dr. Bob

OBESITY, OSTEOPOROSIS, ENDOMETRIOSIS

Thank you for joining us once again.  This month we are covering a variety of conditions, which can be helped by the use of resveratrol.

Obesity--from the University of Valladolid in Spain comes a steady of the use of resveratrol in obese mice.  15 mice were placed on a long-term hyper-caloric diet and resveratrol and were monitored for weight, survival, blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides.  They also measured neuromuscular coordination.  The mice were fed since they were 3 months old.  When compared to a group of mice on high calorie diet without resveratrol, the treated mice had a 5-7% reduction in weight fairly quickly and over one year also had lower levels of blood sugar, insulin and cholesterol along with improved neuromuscular coordination.  While not a human study, this is encouraging to the overweight portion of our population.  PMID 25386805

Post menopausal osteoporosis--this study comes from the Military Medical University in Xian, China.  Post menopausal osteoporosis is a common issue and there is constant effort to find treatments with minimal side effects.  This particular study was done using a rat model where the ovaries were removed inducing menopause.  They were then divided into 4 groups, 3 of which were given a higher dose of resveratrol than the group before.  the fourth group was a control group with ovaries removed but not given resveratrol.  The higher the dose the more benefit seen and a decreased loss of bone mineral density.  Bone structure was improved when compared to the rats who were not given resveratrol.  This suggested a therapeutic benefit against osteoporosis with no side effects.  PMID 25377437

Endometriosis--from Yeditepe University Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey came a study on using resveratrol to treat endometrial implants.  Again, rats were used and endometriosis was induced experimentally by surgically implanting endometrial tissue into the abdomens of the rats.  The rats were then divided into those treated with resveratrol and those which were not.  After treatment, the rats underwent another surgery for exploration and evaluation of the implants in the 2 groups.  The resveratrol group appeared to have an inhibiting factor in the growth  and inflammation of the endometrial implants.  Again this is not a human study but does offer hope to those were suffering from this condition, again with a product which has no side effects.  PMID 25373440 

I hope you find these medical papers of interest and look forward to human studies for the same conditions.

To Your Health,

Dr. Bob