A study published in the November issue of the journal Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center division of surgery reveals that moderate alcohol consumption can help to reduce the build up of plaque in arteries. In turn, this might reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease leading to angina and heart attacks.
Molecules called “Notch” proteins help to control the very small involuntary smooth muscles that regulate arterial blood flow. High levels of cholesterol and smoking can stimulate these proteins, inciting the muscle cells to multiply which in turn can lead to the development of arterial plaques. When these cells are exposed to alcohol, the signaling from Notch proteins is blocked thus blocking the cellular proliferation and the growth of plaque. Researchers advise that one to two small servings of alcohol per day may offer the best protection. Beyond that, large amounts of alcohol can be harmful to cardiac health and lead to stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
A study conducted at the University of Southern Denmark and published in the Journal of Proteome Research has revealed 28 substances that researchers believe man be responsible for some allergic reactions to Chardonnay such a nasal congestion and headaches. While sulfites, a by-product of sulfur dioxide produced naturally during fermentation or as an added preservative, have often been implicated in some reactions, this is the first time grape related allergens have been identified. Sulfites only affect about one percent of the population.
Researchers have identified 28 compounds from the family of glycoproteins with chemical sequences that are similar to known allergens from fruits such as bananas, kiwis and latex products. Glycoproteins are proteins with a carbohydrate molecule attached, many of which are produced during the process of fermentation. Researchers were surprised that many of the glycoproteins originate from the grape itself and not simply precipitated out by the yeast during fermentation.
In a study that attempts to address the very controversial issue of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, scientists from the University College London and Oxford University have published their results examining child development of over 11,000 children born between year 2000 and 2002. Their conclusion is that light alcohol consumption while pregnant does not impair child development during the first five years of life.
11,523 children and their mothers were examined, mothers questioned about alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Scientists classified intake as (a) “teetotalers,” (b) light drinkers (1-2 units/wk), (c)moderate (3-6 units/wk) and (d) heavy (7+ units/wk). Of the study population, about 5,000 women admitted to some level of alcohol consumption, 25% reporting light intake, 5.5% moderate intake and 2.5% heavy consumption. Mothers were first questioned about their child’s behavior at the age of three followed by intellectual testing at the age of five. Children were measured using cognitive testing such as vocabulary tests, choosing of visually similar objects and matching patterns. Additional subjective measures were examined as well such as mother-child “closeness” and the mother’s role as a disciplinarian.
Overall, scientists discovered that children born to light drinkers were 30% less likely to display behavioral issues than children of mothers who fully abstained during pregnancy. Children born to heavy drinkers, on the other hand were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and emotional issues when compared to children of non-drinking mothers.
In a study conducted at the University of Connecticut Cardiovascular Research Center, researchers discovered that the infusion of stem cells in conjunction with the antioxidant resveratrol may improve cardiac function post cardiac trauma. Stem cells, found throughout the body, have the potential to transform into various lines of cells and have been a focus of research interest in their potential to facilitate healing. The cells used in this study were adult stem cells.
Researchers, led by co-author Dipak Das, surgically incised a portion of rat hearts and then sutured the wound. Stem cells were subsequently injected into the heart and observed for healing.
The rats were divided up into two groups, one receiving resveratrol supplements in conjunction with their meals for two weeks prior to surgery and the other, the stem cell injection alone.
In recent years, several studies have highlighted the risks of alcohol consumption as related to breast cancer while others have questioned those results. Now come two additional studies that add fuel to that debate. One study indicates that drinking is not a risk factor for the most common type of breast cancer, ductal carcinoma, while potentially elevating the risk for the less common form, lobular carcinoma. However, a second study found that women with a specific genetic risk for breast cancer may not be at elevated risk when consuming wine.
The first study was headed up by Dr. Christopher Li at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute in Seattle and has been published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Researchers categorized women culled from a large study, the Women’s Health Initiative, tracked between 1993 and 2005. Women were grouped according to the average number of drinks per week. Results indicated that women who consumed seven or more drinks of alcohol weekly, compared to those who abstained, were at a higher risk of lobular carcinoma, a form that develops in the milk production area of the breast. In fact, women who consumed one or more drinks daily had almost double the risk. However, this group did not suffer a significantly higher risk of ductal carcinoma which develops in the milk ducts. Researchers indicated that additional research is needed to detail the pathways of both types of carcinoma and their response to alcohol.
An in vitro study published in the FASED Journal (www.fasebj.com) indicates that red wine in conjunction with green tea is capable of slowing or perhaps stopping prostate cancer growth. The underlying mechanism seems to point to the role that polyphenols, an antioxidant, play in cellular metabolism. Polyphenols are a group of compounds that include, amongst others, resveratrol.
Scientists first conducted in vitro experiments which demonstrated that the inhibition of a vital metabolic pathway necessary for prostate cancer growth was essential. Next, mice genetically altered to develop human prostate cancer were either treated or untreated with green tea and wine polyphenols. The treated mice displayed reduced tumor growth, this the result of the inhibition of the pathway.
Regular alcohol consumption seems to decrease the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis as well as reducing the symptoms of the disease for those sufferers, this from a study by a team of doctors at the University of Sheffield U.K. The study has been published on the website of the journal Rheumatology. These findings could lead to valuable new research for limiting this painful and sometimes disabling condition. While the identity of the cause is still in question, previous studies have shown that moderate alcohol intake can reduce the risk of arthritis in rodents.
Researchers examined 1,877 volunteers—873 who have been diagnosed with arthritis for at least three years and 1,004 healthy subjects. Inflammatory status of bone and cartilage was determined using radiographs and all participants were asked to fill in questionnaires on their lifestyle habits. Results found that nondrinkers were four times more likely to develop arthritis than those who consumed more than 10 days a month. It was also noteworthy even in those who drank and exhibited signs of arthritis, their levels of bone and cartilage inflammation were lower.
Researchers cautioned, however, that they only studied alcohol frequency and not amounts. The study did not differentiate between wine and spirits and intake frequency categories were broad: one to five days per month, six to 10 or more than 10. This leaves the door open to questions relating to type and strength of alcoholic beverage as well as the details in frequency of intake. Here is still another study that seems to point toward the benefits of responsible alcohol intake, if not otherwise contraindicated.
In a study conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo, researchers in the opthamology department working in conjunction with pharmacologists at the R.W. Johnson medical school in New Jersey, have discovered that resverstrol, when administered in very high doses, significantly reduces the formation of new blood vessels in mouse retinas. This discovery is significant in that the overgrowth of blood vessels in the eye can result in blindness and macular degeneration. Researchers have cautioned that the amount of resveratrol administered to the mice retinas is considerably greater than what is contained in several bottles of red wine.
Researchers used a laser to make four incisions on the mouse retina which, in turn, stimulated blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) in an effort to repair the trauma. The control group received no resveratrol while two other groups received either 22.5mg/kg or 45mg/kg. After just seven days of the trial, the mice receiving the higher dose of resveratrol displayed only one percent of the new blood vessel growth as the control group. The details of this study are published in July issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
It’s probably fitting that on the eve of the Wine Inquirer visiting France to interview vintners from Burgundy and Rhone, a new study has been released associating better health in French wine consumers than abstainers.
The study, scheduled to be published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was conducted by researchers at the Center of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in several Paris hospitals. They interviewed 150,000 people from Paris and divided the population into four categories of alcohol consumption: abstinence, less than one drink/day (low), up to three glasses/day (moderate) and 3+ drinks/day (heavy).
While scores of studies over the last decade have suggested the benefits of the compound Resvatrol, a recent clinical trial of a proprietary form of resveratrol has been suspended due to safety concerns. The resveratrol-based drug, SRT501, was being studied in a Phase 2 trial with multiple myeloma patients. Phase 2 trials usually are the first clinical trials that look in detail at a drug’s potential effectiveness.
SRT501, which is not yet approved by the Food & Drug Administration, is being developed by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, biotech company. Sirtris was founded in 2004 and acquired in 2008 by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.
Sirtris describes SRT501 as a “proprietary formulation of resveratrol” with an improved ability to deliver the drug where it is needed in a patient’s body. In the halted clinical trial, SRT501 was to be administered orally once daily. Some of the multiple myeloma patients in the trial were to take SRT501 while also receiving treatment with Velcade (bortezomib). Others were to take only SRT501.
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