publication date: Sep 30, 2011
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author/source: Biotivia LLC
Two new meta studies published in the Journal Nature, one
authored by Dr. David Gems, and the second one by Drs. Auwerx and Canto,
examine previous studies of red wine's ability to promote human health and
longevity.
The compound which is contained in red wine which was the
subject of the study is called resveratrol. Resveratrol specialist James Betz
of Biotivia, a biotech company involved in the study of this compound commented
on the two studies.
Resveratrol was first identified as an activator of
enzymes known as sitruins by Dr David Sinclair of Harvard and his work was also
published in the prestigious journal Nature in 2006. Since that time over 5,000
additional studies of resveratrol have been undertaken. The vast majority of
these studies elucidate impressive potential health benefits of the red wine
molecule. Although most of these studies were done on animals or in the lab,
since 2009 a significant number, using a purified form of resveratrol called
transmax resveratrol, have been done on human subjects. In these clinical
trials resveratrol was shown to improve blood glucose tolerance in pre diabetic
subjects, increase brain blood flow in university students, increase fitness in
both training and sedentary subjects and to have a wide range of other
beneficial health effects.
In the two new Nature studies it was confirmed that
resveratrol does activate the so-called anti-aging genes Sirt 1 and 2, but that
the primary benefits of this effect is to promote resistance to the diseases of
aging such as diabetes and other chronic conditions, not necessarily to
directly increase lifespan. Studies on human longevity are extremely difficult
to conduct due to the inability of the researchers to control for the thousands
of factors which influence lifespan. The medical community prefers to focus on
Healthspan, which is the number of years a person lives free of the
debilitating diseases which often accompany the later years of a person's life.
The idea is that if diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and
Alzheimer's disease can be prevented one's quality of life is dramatically
improved and the cost of health care to the nation is greatly reduced. If the
shift to prevention vs remedial health care is not accomplished within the next
ten years the cost of providing health care to the citizens of every developed
country will exceed the total public budget by 2025 according to leading
economists. Resveratrol is one of the
compounds which could make a significant contribution to the shift to a
prevention centric health care strategy in the US and Europe. Dr. Auwerx stated "Similarly, indirect
activation of SIRT1 by the compound resveratrol protects against metabolic and
age-related diseases." He goes on to state "SIRT1 activation remains a
promising approach to delaying general age-related physiological decline and to
treating numerous inherited and acquired diseases...
At this point the jury is still out on whether
resveratrol will make one live longer however if it prevents an individual from
contracting cancer or diabetes or one of the other diseases of aging, for that
person it will certainly increase improve the person's health span and quality
of life, if not his life span.
One thing is clear. As Dr Auwerx points out,
the astonishing ability of SIRT1 to enhance 'Healthspan' by promoting metabolic
fitness will also guarantee it a long life as a subject for further exciting
research. Biotivia will continue to support human clinical trials of
resveratrol worldwide.
For further information email
james@biotivia.com or visit
www.biotivia.com
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