Another reason to drink red wine

By 24 HOURS NEWS SERVICES
Having another glass of red wine or eating more red grapes may be the key to keeping Alzheimer's from developing, a new study suggests.
The study says that a natural compound called resveratrol found in red wine, red grapes, peanuts and berries may work to prevent Alzheimer's from building up in the brain.
"This finding is a starting point where we may be able to isolate resveratrol and develop a drug to treat Alzheimer's," said study author Dr. Philippe Marambaud, a scientist at Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders in Manhasset, New York.
Resveratrol works with other anti-oxidants to slow the neuro-degenerative process in humans.
"There are more than 600 different compounds identified in red wine, and the resveratrol works in combination with them," Marambaud said.
Marambaud said the polyphenol compound is found in high concentrations in red wines. The highest concentration of resveratrol has been reported in wines prepared from Pinot Noir grapes. Generally, white wines contain one per cent to five per cent of the resveratrol content in most red wines.
One of the features of Alzheimer's disease is the buildup of amyloid-beta peptides in the brain.
In the lab, Marambaud added resveratrol to cells which produce human amyloid-beta and tested the compound's effectiveness by monitoring amyloid-beta levels inside and outside the cells. They found that levels of amyloid-beta in the treated cells were much lower than those in untreated cells.