Study Says Resveratrol May Boost Eye Health
Lee Swanson
According to findings published in the American Journal of Pathology, resveratrol could reverse the abnormal formation of blood vessels in the retina of mice subjected to a laser treatment.
The researchers note that the findings could have potential benefits for both age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy.
AMD is a degenerative retinal disease that causes central vision loss and leaves only peripheral vision, and is the leading cause of legal blindness for people over 55 years of age in the Western world, according to AMD Alliance International.
According to the National Institutes of Health, between 40 and 45% of Americans diagnosed with diabetes already have some stage of diabetic retinopathy, a major cause of blindness in people with diabetes.
In the current study, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identified a pathway called the eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF2) regulated pathway, which they proposed as being responsible for resveratrol’s protective effects.
“We have identified a novel pathway,” said lead researcher Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD, “and we believe the pathway may be involved both in age-related eye disease and in other diseases where angiogenesis plays a destructive role.”
“A great deal of research has identified resveratrol as an anti-aging compound, and given our interest in age-related eye disease, we wanted to find out whether there was a link,” said Apte. “There were reports on resveratrol’s effects on blood vessels in other parts of the body, but there was no evidence that it had any effects within the eye,” he added.
Resveratrol, a powerful polyphenol and anti-fungal chemical, is often touted as the bioactive compound in grapes and red wine. Interest in the compound exploded in 2003 when research from David Sinclair and his team from Harvard reported that resveratrol was able to increase the lifespan of yeast cells. The research, published in Nature, was greeted with international medical fanfare and ignited flames of hope for an anti-aging pill.
According to Sinclair’s findings, resveratrol could activate a gene called sirtuin1 (Sirt1—the yeast equivalent was Sir2), which is also activated during calorie restriction in various species, including monkeys.
For the current study, researchers exposed mouse retinas to a laser treatment that initiated blood vessel formation, or angiogenesis. When resveratrol was fed to the mice, however, the researchers observed that angiogenesis was inhibited and that abnormal blood vessels were eliminated. The effects were identified as occurring via the eEF2 pathway.
American Journal of Pathology 177:481-492, 2010