Comprehensive Library Of Resveratrol News

Researchers report prolonged exercise in laboratory animals improves learning and brain function via growth hormone that stimulates new brain cells (neurons) in the memory center (hippocampus) region of the brain.  This suggests older adults remain physically active to delay or entirely head off dementia, a leading cause of death.

A reduced number of stem cells needed to renew the brain are a characteristic of the aging brain.

The study was conducted in 24-month old laboratory mice.

Prior studies reveal older mice whose circulatory system is paired with younger mice (something call parabiosis) experienced reduced brain aging.  Even injections of blood plasma from young mice to old improves memory and learning.

Now researchers reveal prolonged exercise also improve learning and memory.
The mice were exercised with the use of a running wheel.

The daily exercise of mice for 35 days produced this profound effect.  Shorter or longer periods of exercise had no discernible benefit.  The 35-day exercise regimen produced animals that equaled the mental function of younger mice.  There were both structural and connectivity changes in the brains of exercised animals.

The renewal of brain cells is very slow.  The turnover rate of neurons is ~1.75% per year during adulthood corresponding to ~700 new neurons per day in the hippocampus.  Other researchers report ~1500 new brain cells are produced per day in humans with over 80% of hippocampal brain cells being renewed over a lifetime.   For reference, there are about 86 billion neurons in the human.  Neurons transmit signals throughout the brain.  The adult male brain weighs around 1.5 kilograms or a little over 3 pounds.  During childhood growth there are ~250,000 neurons add to the brain every minute!  At birth a person’s brain will have almost all the neurons it will ever have.  Replacement is slow, otherwise memories would be erased.

A study published in 2012 revealed mega-dose resveratrol in laboratory mice, equivalent to ~500 milligrams in humans, actually inhibits neurogenesis (renewal of brain neurons).  The beneficial effects of resveratrol are dose related.  Lower doses stimulate neurogenesis whereas high doses inhibit neuron renewal.  Unexpectedly, resveratrol did not exert its neuron renewal effect directly in the brain but rather via stimulation in the gastrointestinal tract!  This means the long-held idea that resveratrol cannot make it past the liver detoxification system limits its bioavailability and its promise to help mankind achieve youthful aging.  But indirect neuron renewal via the digestive tract dismisses that allegation.

Essentially resveratrol then serves as a molecular mimic of exercise.  It is impractical to think senior adults would be able to exercise vigorously without a day of rest to maintain a youthful brain.  It is more practical to recognize low-dose resveratrol may help maintain remarkable youthfulness in the brain without exercise.  Resveratrol has also been shown improve neurogenesis among laboratory mice whose brains were contaminated with lead.

Resveratrol also improves blood flow to the brain and protects the brain by activating protective internal antioxidant enzymes (glutathione, catalase, superoxide dismutase) that protects vulnerable brain tissue from damage caused by strokes or even brain trauma, making it an excellent dietary supplement for boxers, football players or any sport where concussions may occur.