According to researchers, Alzheimer’s onset and progression could be halted using Resveratrol, a natural component found in grapes, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, sprouted peanuts, cocoa powder and chocolate.
Scientists have long analyzed the benefits of this polyphenol, which appears in grape skin as a natural antibiotic, with an aim to fight bacterial infections. Previous studies have indicated that resveratrol may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, prevent diabetes, slow down premature skin ageing and fight certain tumors, such as those affecting the skin and the gastrointestinal tract.
This recent study was published in the ”Neurology” journal and it analyzed 119 patients who suffered from mild to moderate Alzheimer’ diseases for a period of 52 weeks.
Throughout that year, the participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: twice a day, one of the groups took a placebo, while the other one took a 500 milligram dose of high-grade resveratrol (which was later doubled). By comparison, a bottle of red wine contains just 1 milligram of this polyphenol.
After the 12-month trial period, it was proven by analyzing brain MRIs and cerebrospinal fluid that a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease was at different levels in the former group than in the latter. Amyloid-beta 40, which normally decreases as dementia progresses, was indeed much lower for those patients who had been given the placebo.
On the other hand, those who had received purified forms of resveratrol displayed little or no change in their amyloid-beta 40 levels, which indicated that the condition had stabilized. This was illustrated also by the fact that the persons included in this group had become more capable of dressing themselves, travelling and cooking.
”When you take reseveratrol, it seems to block or slow down this depletion”, explained R. Scott Turner, lead author of the study and director of the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center.
According to researchers, resveratrol is successful in delaying or preventing the development of Alzheimer’s disease because it activates sirtuins. These proteins regulate biological pathways and heighten the body’s resistance to stressors such as aging and inflammation.
It is a well-established fact that growing old exacerbates the risk of suffering from dementia. However, in the past, caloric restriction was shown to subdue this process and the onset of age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s by making use of the same sirtuins.
A connection between this component and good brain health has been suggested before. For instance, a study published in the ”Nature” journal in January indicated that the polyphenol prevents memory loss and mood impairments related to aging, thus showing that resveratrol treatment in late middle age may help maintain cognitive functions alert in old age.
Other findings made public in March showed that this natural agent can act as an anti-inflammatory and ward off depression.
However, experts maintain that for now it is too early to establish a clear, definite connection between resveratrol and Alzheimer’s, because further research needs to be conducted.
This is particularly important since researchers have found that the component led to a decrease in brain volume. Although it may have been as a result of its ability to fight brain inflammation, it still needs to be fully explained.
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