Thought this information also belonged here as well as in the News Forum
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Red Wine, Long LifeMolecules mimic life extension seen in low-calorie dietsAugust 26, 2003http://www.newsday.c...ealth-headlinesResearchers have known for years that cutting calories can prolong life in everything from yeast cells to mammals. But an easier way to live longer may be as simple as turning a corkscrew.
Molecules found in red wine, peanuts and other products of the plant world have for the first time been shown to mimic the life-extending effects of a spartan diet, a finding that could help researchers develop drugs that lengthen life and prevent or treat aging-related diseases.
Researchers said that of all the compounds tested, the one that extended the life span of yeast cells the most - up to 80 percent - was resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine
David Sinclair, an assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, said he and his fellow researchers hope the molecules will prove to prolong life not just in yeast but in multicellular organisms like worms, fruit flies and, perhaps, humans.
Sinclair, whose study appeared in Sunday's advance online edition of the journal Nature, said tests on worms and flies were already yielding "encouraging" results and similar trials were already being planned in mice.
Scientists have known for decades that putting organisms on a calorie-restricted diet dramatically reduces the incidence of age-related illnesses such as cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease, and a low-calorie diet has been shown to increase life span in a range of animals, including yeast, rats and other mammals.
Sinclair and his collaborators say the current work appears to use the same biochemical pathway involved in calorie restriction.
The molecules that were shown to extend life in yeast belong to a family of compounds known as polyphenols. These include resveratrol, which is already thought to make red wine healthy in moderate amounts.
"We think we've found something that chemically mimics calorie restriction," said molecular biologist Konrad Howitz, who co-wrote the study with Sinclair.
Some scientists expressed skepticism that the life-extending benefits could be transferred to humans. "It's great if you're a yeast. But it's a big leap from a yeast cell to a human," said Merck researcher Mark Lane, who studies aging in monkeys.
"It's intriguing. But will it work in people? We don't know," said David Finkelstein, a program manager at the National Institute on Aging, which funded Sinclair's study.
Lane, who is working on an elaborate study of the diet regimen's effect on 120 rhesus monkeys, said that calorie restriction may not work by the same pathways in yeast and more complex animals: "Humans don't die of the same things that yeast do."
Even if Sinclair's results can be applied to humans, that payoff is probably decades away, Lane said.
But Howitz, who works for BIOMOL, a biotechnology company in suburban Philadelphia, disagreed, arguing that yeast's "longevity pathway" is similar to that of multicellular organisms. This resemblance probably extends to humans, he said. "Yeast is closer to humans than most people realize," he said.
The study is part of a new trend in aging research. In recent years, a small group of scientists have turned away from looking for the cause of aging and focused instead on finding ways to slow the process.
In the 1990s, research showed that single genes can control how fast organisms age. Because of that, scientists have been racing to find ways of manipulating those genes.
Sinclair and his team have been looking for what he calls the Holy Grail of aging research: molecules that activate the enzymes that in turn influence the genes that regulate aging.
Is the resveratrol in red wine an answer?
Finkelstein, for one, said that less drastic life-extension methods exist.
"You want to live a long life? Eat a healthy diet, keep active, exercise your mind," he said. "Don't smoke. And don't get run over by a car. We know for sure that all of those things work.
"Would the National Institute on Aging recommend you drink red wine every day? The answer is 'no,'" he said. "If you were to add a glass of red wine every day without changing your caloric intake, you're going to gain weight. And we know - we know - that if you gain weight that's going to be harmful while this 'benefit' is a benefit that may or may not occur."
Now where did I put that cream cheese bagel?
