RESVERATROL USED FOR THE TREATMENT OF EYE

DISEASE AND MACULAR DEGENERATION

The American Journal of Pathology reports that researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St.

Louis, MO have discovered new implications for the use of red wine resveratrol resveratrol – a polyphenol

compound found in red wine – for preserving vision in blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy as

well as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 50. The study’s

senior investigator, specialist Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, familiar with the research which links resveratrol as

an anti-aging compound, was interested in researching its effects to age-related eye disease.

EFFECTS OF RESVERATROL IN ANGIOGENESIS PROCESS

The formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, plays a key role in certain cancers and fat deposits

that can clog arteries. Experiments were conducted in mouse retinas, and researchers found

that resveratrol can inhibit angiogenesis. Mice that had developed abnormal blood vessels in the retina after

laser treatment were given resveratrol, after which the abnormal blood vessels began to disappear.

BENEFITS OF RESVERATROL AS TREATMENT FOR EYE DISEASES

A resveratrol treatment may help three major eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration, diabetic

retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. All these diseases involve the obstruction or development of

abnormal blood vessels beneath. Taking into account the almost 24 million persons affected with diabetes in

the United States alone, and the aging of an entire generation of baby boomers, the incidence of these

diseases is expected to grow within the next 10 years.

“This could potentially be a preventive therapy in high-risk patients,” says Dr. Apte. “And because it worked on

existing, abnormal blood vessels in the animals, it may be a therapy that can be started after angiogenesis has

already started to cause its damage.”

Because resveratrol is given orally, patients may prefer it to many current treatments for retinal disease,

which involve eye injections.

BUCCAL ABSORPTION OF RESVERATROL SUPPLEMENTS

The trials conducted involved large doses of resveratrol, MUCH MORE THAN WOULD BE FOUND IN SEVERAL BOTTLES OF

RED WINE. This compound is easily absorbed in the body, but is most bioavailable when taken in the form or an

intraoral resveratrol tablets. Absorption of resveratrol through the buccal mucosa without swallowing has

been shown to have up to 250 greater levels of the compound in the blood plasma when compared to regular

pills or capsules.

Source: http://www.resveratrolhealthblog.com/resveratrol-prevent-eye-disease-macular-degeneration/