|
The study conducted at the University of Granada, and
led by Rocío López-Sepúlveda, a researcher at the
department of pharmacology is scheduled to be published in the April issue
of Hypertension.
Women who have gone through menopause are at a greater
risk of hypertension than men of the same age, underlining the need to
identify potential therapeutic measures, write the study's authors.
The study indicates that the red-wine compounds may help
reduce hypertension as well as the complications associated with it, such
as inflammation of the arteries, a restricted aorta or oxidative stress
on the blood vessels.
Reported in the Wine Spectator, the study has also included
research from the University Complutense of Madrid. Researchers used female
rats that were genetically engineered to have high blood pressure. They
then stimulated menopause by removing the rats' ovaries, after which time
the rats' blood pressure rose due to the altered DNA. The scientists treated
half the rats with a mixture of several types of red-wine chemicals associated
with improved circulation, including resveratrol, for a period of five
weeks. The remaining rats serving as a control group received only water
with their diet.
After five weeks, the scientists examined the rats' blood
vessels. They found that the high blood pressure had been alleviated in
the rats that received a regular red-wine-compound treatment added to
their food. The rats had more relaxed aortas, healthier linings to the
veins and arteries, as well as less oxidative stress—all of which
are associated with lower blood pressure.
The scientists cautioned, however that while their results
indicate that the risk of hypertension in postmenopausal women could potentially
be reduced through the use of regular red-wine-chemical supplements, they
may not extend to women who drink red wine.
Excess wine shrinks brain
In the meanwhile, according to another study, consuming
wine might make parts of your brain shrivel more quickly than the consumption
of beer or liquor.
Researchers at Göttingen University in Germany have found that the
hippocampus, a part of the brain important for memory and brain performance
shrinks particularly quickly in wine drinkers.
Using a magnetic resonance tomography unit, the researchers measured
the brains of wine, beer and liquor consumers. According to the study,
wine drinkers on average had a hippocampus that was ten per cent smaller
than that of beer drinkers. Non-drinkers had the largest hippocampus.
The researchers believe beer may contain some substances that counteract
the damaging effect of alcohol.
Amidst increasing absurdity in the various recent studies on wine
and health, one trend is clear-there is nothing like drinking quality
wine regularly and in moderation. Rather than drinking primarily for the
health benefits one should drink for pleasure with the potential benefits
being only as a side benefit.-editor
|