Mechanics Revealed of How Red Wine Compounds Fight Alzheimer's Disease

Called the "French paradox" by scientists--the French, despite consuming food high in cholesterol and saturated fats, have long had low death rates from heart disease. Research has suggested it is the red wine consumed with all that fatty food that may be beneficial-- and not only for cardiovascular health but in fending off certain tumors and even Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Now, Alzheimer's researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA; USA), collaborating with investigators from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY, USA), have discovered how red wine may reduce the incidence of the disease. Reporting in the November 21, 2008, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC), Dr. David Teplow, a UCLA professor of neurology, and colleagues demonstrated how naturally occurring compounds in red wine called polyphenols block the formation of proteins that make the deadly plaques believed to destroy brain cells, and furthermore, how they reduce the toxicity of existing plaques, thereby reducing cognitive deterioration.

Polyphenols comprise a chemical class with more than 8,000 members, many of which are found in high concentrations in wine, tea, nuts, berries, cocoa, and various plants. Past research has suggested that such polyphenols may suppress or prevent the buildup of toxic fibers composed primarily of two proteins--Aß40 and Aß42--that deposit in the brain and form the plaques that have long been associated with AD. Until now, however, no one understood the mechanics of how polyphenols worked.

Dr. Teplow's laboratory has been examining how amyloid beta (Aß) is involved in causing AD. In this study, researchers monitored how Aß40 and Aß42 proteins folded up and stuck to each other to produce aggregates that destroyed nerve cells in mice. Next, they treated the proteins with a polyphenol compound extracted from grape seeds. They discovered that polyphenols carried a one-two punch: they suppressed the formation of the toxic aggregates of Aß and decreased toxicity when they were combined with Aß before it was added to brain cells.

"What we found is pretty straightforward,” Dr. Teplow said. "If the Aß proteins can't assemble, toxic aggregates can't form, and thus there is no toxicity. Our work in the laboratory, and Mt. Sinai's Dr. Giulio Pasinetti's work in mice, suggest that administration of the compound to Alzheimer's patients might block the development of these toxic aggregates, prevent disease development and also ameliorate existing disease.”

Human clinical trials are planned. "No disease-modifying treatments of Alzheimer's now exist, and initial clinical trials of a number of different candidate drugs have been disappointing,” Dr. Teplow concluded. "So we believe that this is an important next step.”

Related Links:
University of California, Los Angeles
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine