Natural
Chemical found in Grapes may protect against
Alzheimer’s Disease by decreasing
Neurotoxins in the Brain
Newswise, July 19, 2011 — Researchers at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found
that grape seed polyphenols—a natural
antioxidant—may help prevent the development
or delay the progression of Alzheimer’s
disease.
The research, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti,
MD, PhD, The Saunder Family Professor in
Neurology, and Professor of Psychiatry and
Geriatrics and Adult Development at Mount
Sinai School of Medicine, was published
online in the current issue of theJournal
of Alzheimer’s Disease.
This is the first study to evaluate the
ability of grape-derived polyphenols to
prevent the generation of a specific form of
β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a substance in the
brain long known to cause the neurotoxicity
associated with Alzheimer disease.
In partnership with a team at the University
of Minnesota led by Karen Hsiao Ashe, MD,
PhD, Dr. Pasinetti and his collaborators
administered grape seed polyphenolic
extracts to mice genetically determined to
develop memory deficits and Aβ neurotoxins
similar to those found in Alzheimer’s
disease.
They found that the brain content of the Aβ*56,
a specific form of Aβ previously implicated
in the promotion of Alzheimer’s disease
memory loss, was substantially reduced after
treatment.
Previous studies suggest that increased
consumption of grape-derived polyphenols,
whose content, for example, is very high in
red wine, may protect against cognitive
decline in Alzheimer’s.
This new finding, showing a selective
decrease in the neurotoxin Aβ*56 following
grape-derived polyphenols treatment,
corroborates those theories.
“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.
The study authors emphasize that in order
for grape-derived polyphenols to be
effective, scientists need to identify a
biomarker of disease that would pinpoint who
is at high risk to develop Alzheimer’s
disease.
“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 Dr. Pasinetti.
“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 Aβ*56 in the brain are
targeted by grape-derived polyphenols holds
significant promise.”
This research was funded by a grant from the
National Institutes of Health. Dr. Giulio
Pasinetti is a named inventor of a pending
patent application filed by Mount Sinai
School of Medicine (MSSM) related to the
study of Alzheimer’s disease. In the event
the pending or issued patent is licensed,
Dr. Pasinetti would be entitled to a share
of any proceeds MSSM receives from the
licensee.
