Resveratrol can help prevent stroke damage

[Guest guest]

http://news./s/nm/20061015/hl_nm/wine_dc

Red wine might work to protect the brain from damage after a stroke

and drinking a couple of glasses a day might provide that protection

ahead of time, U.S. researchers reported on Sunday.

In an effort to better understand how red wine works, the scientists

from s Hopkins University fed mice a moderate dose of a compound

found in red grape skins and seeds before inducing stroke-like damage.

They discovered that the animals suffered less brain damage than

similarly damaged mice who were not treated with the compound, which

is called resveratrol.

" When we pre-treat the animals with the compound orally, then we

observe that we have a significant decrease in the area of stroke

damage by about 40 percent, " said Sylvain Dore, the lead researcher

for the study.

Dore and his research team presented their results from the study,

which was funded in part by the U.S. government, at a Society for

Neuroscience conference in Atlanta.

" What is unique about this study is we have somewhat identified what

can be the specific mechanism, " in the wine that is good for health,

Dore said. " Here we are building cell resistance against free radical

damage. "

The study showed that resveratrol increases levels of an enzyme in the

brain -- heme oxygenase -- that was already known to shield nerve

cells from damage.

Dore said the beneficial effects associated with drinking a moderate

amount of red wine could be explained by the fact the wine turns on

the heme oxygenase anti-oxidant system.

" Red wine has been suggested for the heart. Here what we show is its

special effect in stroke and pre-treatment, " Dore said. " It suggests

that prophylactic use of wine could work. "

The fermentation process in wine-making boosts the concentration of

resveratrol, Dore said.

But said more studies are needed to translate the findings from mice

into humans.

The amount of wine that must be consumed in order to reap the benefits

of the compound will vary depending on a person's weight and the

concentration of resveratrol in the wine. But Dore said it will likely

work out to about two glasses a day.

---------------

Two glasses a day must be the dose for larger people. That would put

me under the table. -- Diane