Resveratrol is safe and may be beneficial in Alzheimer's disease
Although these preliminary results are promising, it’s not clear if resveratrol can be used as an effective adjuvant in Alzheimer disease
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 1 in 9 Americans over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease. Presently, there is no cure and treatment options are limited. Altering the trajectory of the illness by slowing its progression remains a key clinical goal.
A 2015 study featured in the journal Neurology set out to determine the safety and tolerability of resveratrol with secondary objectives to explore the effects of resveratrol on cognitive, functional, biomarker and behavioural outcomes in 119 people diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.
Study participants were randomised to receive resveratrol or a placebo. The dose of trans-resveratrol started at 500mg once a day with a dose escalation in 500mg increments every 13 weeks ending with 1000mg twice a day. Brain MRI and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) collections were done at baseline and at the end of the trial at 52 weeks on 104 subjects who completed the study.
At the end of the study, there were no differences between resveratrol and placebo-treated groups on vitals, physical and neurologic examinations. Nausea, diarrhoea and weight loss occurred in 42% of the reservatrol group and in 33% of the placebo group. At 52 weeks, brain volume loss was increased in the resveratrol group compared with the placebo. However, in the reseveratrol group, there was less of a decline in CSF and plasma Aß40 levels; this is a key biomarker of Alzheimer’s progression.
Resveratrol and its major metabolites penetrated the blood-brain barrier, providing evidence that it does cross the blood-brain barrier. Further, biomarkers of Alzheimer’s were somewhat preserved. Although these preliminary results are promising, it’s not clear if resveratrol can be used as an effective adjuvant in Alzheimer disease. Larger studies are necessary to elucidate the exact benefit resveratrol can have in this patient population.
