Comprehensive Library Of Resveratrol News

The red wine molecule resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trol) has just recently been added to the growing list of nutrients (fish oil, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D) that improve mental performance and slow and even reverse brain shrinkage with advancing age. [Journal Neuroscience June 4, 2014]

Resveratrol didn’t just improve the ability of laboratory mice to remember how to navigate through mazes but actually improved the memory of healthy seniors (word recall scores) which was correlated with decreases in blood sugar (hemoglobin A1c test) and body fat and improved connectivity between the memory formation part of the brain (the hippocampus) and the emotional control center of the brain (frontal cortex).   Resveratrol also increased the size of the hippocampus and frontal cortex, critical areas of the brain that facilitate memory.

The above graphic compares the ability of healthy senior adults to recall the correct words in a mental test before and after taking a resveratrol pill or an inactive placebo pill. The graphic reveals a dramatic improvement over a 26-week period when taking resveratrol + quercetin dietary supplement. The quercetin was added to improve the immediate bioavailability of resveratrol.

Researchers concluded: “Selective increases in resting-state frontal cortex patterns of the hippocampus observed in our participants after resveratrol supplementation may reflect improvements in the integrity and functionality of the hippocampus…. our findings further support the hypothesis that resveratrol acts as an easy caloric restriction mimetic, inducing positive effects on sugar (glucose) metabolism and subsequent nerve function and thinking performance. Moreover, brain imaging results indicates selective changes in nerve connections of the hippocampus after resveratrol that were linked with behavioral (memory) improvements” (paraphrased).

Brain researchers have only recently identified the hippocampus, a section of the human brain involved in memory formation, mental organization and information storage, as the control center of aging. The latest scientific review notes that progressive shrinkage of the hippocampus begins in middle age. [Neuroimage March 20, 2015]

 

Measurement of shrinkage of the hippocampus is now considered the gold standard technique for identification of early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. [Alzheimer’s Dementia Feb 2015; Medical News Today March 26, 2015]

Fish oil, B vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin D have previously been identified as nutrients that slow brain shrinkage with advancing age. [Frontiers Aging Neuroscience Aug 25, 2014; Alzheimer’s Dementia Feb 2015; Neurology Feb 4, 2014;   Postȩpy Hygiene Experimental Medicine Feb 2015; ACS Chemical Neuroscience Feb 12, 2015; Proceedings National Academy Science June 4, 2014; Neuroscience March 14, 2014; Tufts Now Sept 4, 2013] – © 2015 Bill Sardi, ResveratrolNews.com