Finding the root cause of aging

"Finding The Root Cause of Aging"

From Los Angeles Times article

Researchers believe they have identified a fundamental cause of aging, according to a study published this week in the journal Cell. The mechanism was previously found in fungus and has now been discovered in mice. It's likely that the same process applies to humans, said the authors of the research, from Harvard.

The study found that DNA damage, which accrues as we age, decreases a cell's ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. Though DNA damage speeds up aging, the actual cause is not the DNA damage but the lack of gene regulation. However, this lack of gene regulation, called epigenetics, may be reversible.

The study focused on a group of genes called sirtuins that are involved in the aging process. Sirtuins respond to DNA damage to repair it but appear to become overwhelmed as DNA damage accumulates during aging. When DNA damage accumulates, the sirtuins became too distracted to properly regulate gene activity. This was found in yeast about 10 years ago. The new study shows it also occurs in mice. Researchers believe they have identified a fundamental cause of aging, according to a study published this week in the journal Cell. The mechanism was previously found in fungus and has now been discovered in mice. It's likely that the same process applies to humans, said the authors of the research, from Harvard.

The study found that DNA damage, which accrues as we age, decreases a cell's ability to regulate which genes are turned on and off in particular settings. Though DNA damage speeds up aging, the actual cause is not the DNA damage but the lack of gene regulation. However, this lack of gene regulation, called epigenetics, may be reversible.

The study focused on a group of genes called sirtuins that are involved in the aging process. Sirtuins respond to DNA damage to repair it but appear to become overwhelmed as DNA damage accumulates during aging. When DNA damage accumulates, the sirtuins became too distracted to properly regulate gene activity. This was found in yeast about 10 years ago. The new study shows it also occurs in mice.

But when stimulated by either the chemical in red wine, resveratrol, or by caloric restriction, sirtuins appear to function better. In the study, researchers administered extra copies of the sirtuin gene, or fed resveratrol to mice that were genetically altered to develop lymphoma. That extended their lifespan by 24% to 46%.

"We see here, through a proof-of-principal demonstration, that elements of aging can be reversed," said one of the researchers, Philipp Oberdoerffer, in a news release.

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New Longevity Drugs Poised to Tackle Diseases of Aging

Attached is a link to an article published on 11/21/2008 titled "New Longevity Drugs Poised to Tackle Diseases of Aging"

"...In labs across the country, researchers are developing several new drugs that target the cellular engines called mitochondria. The first, resveratrol, is already in clinical trials for diabetes. It could be on the market in four years and used off-label as an all-purpose longevity enhancer. Other drugs promise to be more potent and refined. They might even be cheap. "


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Resveratrol May Prevent Breast Cancer

An article published by WebMD on July 7, 2008 indicates resveratrol, a nutrient found in red wine, keeps estrogen from causing breast cancer in test-tube studies.

The article report the findings which state, "Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer," Rogan says in a news release. "We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road."



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Resveratrol Benefits Against Cancer

Resveratrol has been the focus of intense interest because of its powerful anti-oxidant properties and its potential cardioprotective, anti-aging, and anti-cancer properties.

With regard to anti-cancer properties, resveratrol appears to be important in prostate, uterus, breast and skin health. It appears that resveratrol may selectively target and kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading at all 3 steps of the cancer process. The initiation phase, promotion phase and progression phase. The list of tumors that resveratrol may inhibit is astounding, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, liver cancer, brain cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer, ovarian and cervical cancer, lymphoma and it even appears to act as an anti-leukemia agent. A high dose of resveratrol is probably needed to support these benefits.

In one publised study, resveratrol-fed mice undergoing prostate mutagenesis showed an 87 percent reduction in risk of developing prostate tumors. The mice fed resveratrol for seven months experienced the highest risk reduction. Other mice with a less serious form of prostate mutagenesis were 49 percent more likely to have tumor growth halted or slowed compared to mice not consuming the compound.

In the report "Red Wine Antioxidant Fights Cancer" published by cbsnews.com on March 28,2008, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center say the antioxidant found in grape skins, known as resveratrol, appears to work by targeting the cancer cell's energy source from within. The study showed that resveratrol destroys cancer cells from the inside and enhances the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy cancer treatments. The results showed that resveratrol had a variety of potentially valuable anti-cancer effects, including:
• Making the cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy by hampering proteins
that resist treatment
• Triggering cancer cell death (apoptosis)
• Injuring the cancer cell's energy source and decreasing its potential to function

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Resveratrol’s Potential to Prevent Cell Damage.

Today’s blog will focus on resveratrol’s potential to prevent cell damage. Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that can help protect the body and the heart by neutralizing free radicals in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that roam the bloodstream that attack healthy cells and damage membranes and DNA. Resveratrol may provide life prolonging effects by effectively neutralizing free radicals that would otherwise attack healthy cells.

One of the effects of free radical damage is hardening and thickening of the arteries. It has been shown that as cells are damaged by free radicals, this in turn, promotes more free radical activity and more damage. Resveratrol may provide a defense for this progressive process.
Resveratrol’s antioxidant action helps stop free radical damage and opens the arteries by enhancing nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a critical component of heart/artery function. It allows blood vessels to “relax,” which enhances blood flow. A high-cholesterol diet has been shown to decrease nitric oxide by about a third. Resveratrol supplements may significantly reverse this trend. Also, resveratrol may also stop the proliferation of cells in blood vessels that narrow the arteries and may also keep blood cells from sticking together. Maintaining healthy blood vessels and healthy blood circulation is very important in preventing heart attacks.

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Resveratrol amd Potential Heart Benefits

Today's blog will focus on the potential benefits that resveratrol may provide for heart health. Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant, a factor to which its heart-protective effects are largely attributed. Resveratrol may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by lowering low-density lipoproteins (or “bad cholesterol”) and their degradation by oxidizing agents such as free radicals facilitates their incorporation into artery-clogging plaque.

Resveratrol could potentially help keep your heart and arteries healthy by preventing cholesterol plaque from forming within artery walls regardless of whether circulating levels of cholesterol are high or low. Laboratory experiments in vitro and studies in animals have shown that trans-resveratrol can stop blood platelets from sticking together (platelet aggregation). Since sticky platelets are tied to increased risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots throughout the body, this is a significant finding in regards to life-threatening risk factors.

Another of resveratrol’s interesting cardiovascular implications is its ability to enhance angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels, in order to help feed the heart during periods of oxygen deprivation (ischemia). The formation of new blood vessels caused by trans-resveratrol restores the blood supply to the ischemic area, preventing heart cell death and abnormal changes to the heart.

Resveratrol also has the potential to improve blood circulation by relaxing the endothelium that lines the arteries, allowing for efficient blood flow.

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Resveratrol and the French Paradox

Today’s blog will focus on the role resveratrol plays in the “French Paradox”. The “French Paradox” is a puzzling fact the people in southern France enjoy a high dietary intake of saturated fats yet suffer less incidence of coronary heart disease.

In trying to understand the French Paradox, researchers focused on red wine. Numerous studies have been published indicating that drinking wine, particularly red wine, in moderation provides a number of healthful benefits. It was determined that the resveratrol present in red wine provided the most probable answer to the French Paradox. Resveratrol is present in the skin of red grapes and is the key ingredient behind the reason people in southern France experience less heart disease than others.

Resveratol has the potential to lower the risk of coronary heart disease by lowering LDL or bad cholesterol. Resveratrol also may help keep your heart and arteries healthy by preventing cholesterol plaque from forming within artery walls regardless of whether circulating levels of cholesterol are high or low.

Resveratrol has captured the attention of the world's health and scientific communities for its many potential health benefits.

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Red Wine Compound Shown To Prevent Prostate Cancer

Here is a report from ScienceDaily regarding results of a study that suggest resveratrol may help reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.

This study adds to a growing body of evidence that resveratrol consumption may provide powerful chemoprevention properties, in addition to its apparent heart-health benefits.

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Resveratrol Found in Red Wine

This blog will provide information and the latest news on resveratrol. Resveratrol has captured the attention of the world's health and scientific communities for its potential health benefits. The numerous health benefits of resveratrol have been extensively covered by The New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Science Daily, ABC News, the National Cancer Institute, and numerous other media outlets.

Resveratrol is a compound found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts, some berries and in the Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). The Japanese knotweed is often the source of resveratrol in supplements. In grapes, resveratrol is found primarily in the skin. Since the skins of grapes are used in making wine, resveratrol is also present in wine, especially red wine. Some researchers suggest the presence of resveratrol in red wine may explain the "French Paradox". The "French Paradox" is a puzzling fact that people in southern France enjoy high dietary intake of saturated fats yet suffer less incidence of coronary heart disease.

Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that may provide a number of beneficial health effects such as: 1) protecting the heart by neutralizing free radicals in the body (free radicals are unstable molecules that attack healthy cells and damage membranes and DNA); 2) reducing cancer risk by fighting cancer at three steps - initiation, promotion and progression; 3) reducing inflammation; 4) aid in controlling Type II Diabetes; 5) lowering bad cholesterol; 6) inhibiting blood platelet aggregation: 7) providing anti-aging benefits as the result of caloric reduction effects; and 8) preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

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