Cheers to the Fight Against Alzheimer's!

Alzheimer's disease is more than just memory loss.  It is a disease that has the power to take away who you are.  It might start with forgetting appointments, but in the late stage of the disease, you depend on someone else for all your personal needs.  At this point in the disease, you are not able to communicate verbally and might have difficulty eating and swallowing.  As the disease progresses, walking becomes a challenge, which can lead to falling and breaking bones.  But, what if there was hope in giving you a better quality of life?    What if you delay the progression of Alzheimer’s by consuming wine?

A study conducted by Dr. Michael Collins at the Loyola University-Chicago, found that moderate ethanol consumption protects against cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and HIV dementia.   Dr. Collins and his colleagues used rat cultures to study the effects of moderate ethanol preconditioning on neurons and glia cells.  The resulting data revealed that a concentration of 20-30 nM of ethanol, or 4-5 glasses of wine, prevents neurodegeneration caused by β-amyloid.  In Alzheimer’s disease, β-amyloid is a big player.  It is the main component of amyloid plaques found in the brains of those affected with the disease.

In a recent study, it was revealed that resveratrol, an antioxidant found in grapes and red wine, can alter β-amyloid levels in the brain.  Thus, resveratrol can aid in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.  In this study, 119 people were given a high dosage resveratrol pill for one year.  The high dosage pill is equivalent to 1000 bottles of red wine!   A high dosage of resveratrol was needed to ensure that enough of it was entering the brain.  It is hypothesized that resveratrol changes the levels of β-amyloid in the brain by circulating it to the rest of the body.  It was noted that people taking the pill found it easier to perform daily tasks such as brushing their teeth. However, much more research is needed to assess its safety and long-term effects. But, it does give us hope in fighting this awful disease! 


 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20422315

 http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/11/health/resveratrol-hope-for-alzheimers-patients/