Grape Seed Extracts Blocks Formation of Toxic Amyloid-Beta Oligomers in Brain Tissue

Compounds present in grape seed polyphenolic extract (GSPE) may protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease by blocking the formation of toxic amyloid-beta (A-beta) oligomers in brain tissue.

Previous studies have found that increased consumption of grape-derived polyphenols, such as those found in red wine, may protect against cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. In the current study, investigators at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY, USA) and their colleagues at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, USA) treated Tg2576 mice – a well-known rodent Alzheimer’s disease model – with GSPE for a period of five months.

They reported in the July 2011 online edition of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that the treatment significantly decreased brain levels of A-beta*56, a 56-kDa A-beta oligomer previously shown to induce memory dysfunction in rodents, without changing the levels of transgenic amyloid-beta protein precursor, monomeric A-beta, or other A-beta oligomers.

“It will be critical to identify subjects who are at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, so that we can initiate treatments very early and possibly even in asymptomatic patients,” said senior author Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, professor of psychiatry and geriatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “However, for Alzheimer’s disease patients who have already progressed into the initial stages of the disease, early intervention with this treatment might be beneficial as well. Our study implicating that these neurotoxins such as A-beta*56 in the brain are targeted by grape-derived polyphenols holds significant promise.”

“Since naturally occurring polyphenols are also generally commercially available as nutritional supplements and have negligible adverse events even after prolonged periods of treatment, this new finding holds significant promise as a preventive method or treatment, and is being tested in translational studies in Alzheimer’s disease patients,” said Dr. Pasinetti.

Since the results of this study showed that a safe and affordable intervention could lower the levels of a memory-impairing A-beta oligomer in vivo, the authors strongly suggested that GSPE should be further tested as a potential prevention and/or therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

Related Links:
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
University of Minnesota