LONGECITY

Hi, Just got the news from my wife and my head is kind of spinning. The new was pretty unexpected.

Anyway, regarding resveratrol, my first thought was she should stop taking it. I'm sure any doctor would say the same thing, but, with our circumstance, I'm not sure she should. Here's the details. My wife just turned 44. It was hard for us to have our first two children. It took us a year and a half plus clomid to conceive our first and it took us 5 1/2 years plus clomid for our second. I don't know how valid this is, but I once heard an "expert" on the radio say that after the age of 42 women don't get pregnant without medical help. Regardless weather or not that is true it's clearly been difficult for us to have children and we are now at an age where it is much less likely.

My wife just started taking resv about 2 or 3 months ago and now, low and behold, she suddenly gets knocked up. Obviously I'm thinking the resv may have had an effect that enabled her to conceive and if that's the case maybe it would be important for her to keep taking it. At least through the first trimester to help her body chemistry hold the pregnancy until it's firmly established. I'd love to hear what you guys think. If you agree or disagree, and if you know of any studies on how resv affected lab animal pregnancies, etc. Thanks.

Btw, she's been taking 300mg 99%, sublingual, right before breakfast.

Yeah she should stop taking it in my opinion. Just concentrate on getting essential vitamins , minerals, fats, and just generally goood nutrition. Also avoid things like green tea extract too.

resv hasnt been proven safe in human pregnancies so it must be stopped during pregnancy... unless you want to risk it. i would have her stop taking it immediately.

you should have her stop taking everything except a prenatal vitamin and fish oil.
Edited by ajnast4r, 29 June 2009 - 03:52 PM.

Wouldn't anyone else be afraid to have her stop? The 1st trimester is such a critical time and if her body suddenly starts acting like she's 44....
My wife and I didn't want another child but it would be crushing for us to lose this baby.
Edited by sagecucumber, 29 June 2009 - 05:46 PM.

Wean her off of it if, over a period of days...
Just an opinion from past experience, not medical advice of course.

Good luck my friend.

A
Edited by Anthony_Loera, 29 June 2009 - 10:09 PM.

Just keep in mind that what's required to conceive a baby and what's required to carry one are two different things. As far as 42 being the limit, that sounds like an arbitrary limit and a lot of BS. It also sounds like an advertisement for fertility doctors.
You need to err on the side of caution, although I understand your desire to continue with it. Keep in mind that you're taking more of a gamble on your baby's life by trying something not proven to be safe than by going off the drug and letting your wife's body do its thing.

I agree with StrangeAeons. Conception and Carrying to term are two entirely different things. Older women have a harder time conceiving for sure, carrying maybe less so. I think any medical professional would tell her to stop. If you think about it, resveratrol produces gene expression patterns that are related to caloric restriction. If the body thinks it doesn't have enough resources, that doesn't sound like it's going to be favorable for either conception or carrying to term. I can understand that it's tempting to dance with the one that brought you to the party, but my advice would be to stop.

I agree with StrangeAeons. Conception and Carrying to term are two entirely different things. Older women have a harder time conceiving for sure, carrying maybe less so. I think any medical professional would tell her to stop. If you think about it, resveratrol produces gene expression patterns that are related to caloric restriction. If the body thinks it doesn't have enough resources, that doesn't sound like it's going to be favorable for either conception or carrying to term. I can understand that it's tempting to dance with the one that brought you to the party, but my advice would be to stop.

seconded

Thank you all for the excellent advise, and taking the time. I've decided I'm going to ask her to halve the dose for two days then halve it again for two more days before stopping completely. Now wish us luck. Some of the stats I've been reading are quite sobering. There's over a 50% chance we will miscarry. If we make it full term, the chances are 1 in 26 of a chromosomal disorder.

The safety of resveratrol during human pregnancy has not been established. Studies in rodents have given contradictory results. It may prevent birth defects from environmental contaminants according to more than one study. However another study found high dose resveratrol resulted in earlier sexual maturity in offspring, and longer estrus cycles at maturity. Another study showed administration of high doses during lactation had effeminizing effects on male offspring. I suspect a low dose, maybe two hundred mg, might be protective without causing later developmental problems, and that it would take very high doses to cause problems. That your wife conceived so easily when taking resveratrol might be due its effect of preventing defects in fetal development; most miscarriages and failure of the fetus to implant are due to such defects. However, after the third month I doubt there are malformations to worry about, and the potential estrogenic effect on fetal sexual development that occurs after the first trimester could be worrisome. Cutting the dose and stopping until the child is weaned is probably the wisest course of action.

Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 Sep 4;591(1-3):280-3. Epub 2008 May 28.
Antiteratogenic effect of resveratrol in mice exposed in utero to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Jang JY, Park D, Shin S, Jeon JH, Choi BI, Joo SS, Hwang SY, Nahm SS, Kim YB.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 361-763, Republic of Korea.
The effect of resveratrol, an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist, on the teratogenicity induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was investigated. Pregnant C57BL/6J mice were orally administered resveratrol (50 mg/kg) for 6 consecutive days, from gestational day (GD) 8 to GD13, followed by an oral challenge with TCDD (14 mug/kg) on GD12. TCDD caused severe fetal malformations including cleft palate (40.7%), renal pelvic dilatation (100%, mean score 3.060), and ureteric dilatation (100%, mean score 3.210) and tortuosity (95.1%). Resveratrol significantly reduced both the incidence of TCDD-induced cleft palate to 18.4% and the degrees of renal pelvic and ureteric dilatations caused by TCDD. The results suggest that pretreatment with resveratrol might bring a beneficial outcome for reducing the incidence and severity of fetal malformations caused by TCDD exposure in utero.
PMID: 18571640

Reprod Toxicol. 2004 Aug-Sep;18(6):803-11. Links
Effects of maternal xenoestrogen exposure on development of the reproductive tract and mammary gland in female CD-1 mouse offspring.

Nikaido Y, Yoshizawa K, Danbara N, Tsujita-Kyutoku M, Yuri T, Uehara N, Tsubura A.
Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8506, Japan.
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of maternal exposure to xenoestrogen, at levels comparable to or greater than human exposure, on development of the reproductive tract and mammary glands in female CD-1 mouse offspring. Effects of genistein (GEN), resveratrol (RES), zearalenone (ZEA), bisphenol A (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) were examined. Beginning on gestational day 15, pregnant CD-1 mice were administered four daily subcutaneous injections with 0.5 or 10 mg/kg/day of GEN, RES, ZEA or BPA, 0.5 or 10 microg/kg/day of DES dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), or DMSO vehicle (n = 6). Vaginal opening was monitored, 6 animals per group were autopsied at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age and estrous cyclicity was monitored from 9 to 11 weeks of age. Maternal exposure to xenoestrogen accelerated puberty onset (vaginal opening) and increased the length of the estrous cycle; mice treated with GEN, RES, BPA or DES spent more time in diestrus, and ZEA-treated mice spent more time in estrus. Lack of corpora lutea and vaginal cornification were observed at 4 weeks of age in the high-dose GEN (33%) and RES (17%) groups, and in the high- and low-dose BPA groups (33 and 50%, respectively) and DES groups (83 and 100%, respectively). Lack of corpora lutea and vaginal cornification was observed in the high-dose ZEA group at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age (83, 100, 83 and 33%, respectively). Mammary gland differentiation was accelerated in ZEA- and BPA-treated mice with corpora lutea at 4 weeks of age. ZEA-treated mice without corpora lutea showed mammary growth arrest at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age; their mammary glands consisted only of a dilatated duct filled with secreted fluid. Mammary gland growth was similar with xenoestrogens other than ZEA or BPA to that of the controls at all time points. High-dose GEN and RES and high- and low-dose BPA and DES exerted transient effects on the reproductive tract and mammary glands, whereas ZEA exerted prolonged effects.
PMID: 15279878

Dev Neurosci. 2006;28(3):186-95.
Effects of neonatal resveratrol exposure on adult male and female reproductive physiology and behavior.

Henry LA, Witt DM.
Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA. l-henry2@northwestern.edu
Resveratrol (RES) is a phytoestrogen that has the ability to bind to estrogen receptors (ERs) and evoke biological effects that parallel those exerted by endogenous and synthetic estrogens. We have shown in previous studies that adult female rats acutely exposed to RES exhibit estrous cycle irregularity, ovarian hypertrophy, and alterations in sociosexual behavior. The present experiment characterizes the prolonged effects of maternal RES exposure throughout the lactational period on subsequent behavior, reproductive tissues, and brain morphology of the adult offspring. During adulthood, female offspring exposed to RES throughout nursing exhibited reduced body weight and increased ovarian weight, but exhibited normal estrous cyclicity and sociosexual behavior, without changes in the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area or the anteroventral periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. During adulthood, males exposed to RES throughout nursing exhibited decreased body weight and plasma testosterone concentration, increased testicular weight, and reduced sociosexual behavior. These males also had significantly smaller sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area volumes and larger anteroventral periventricular nucleus volumes compared to male controls. These data suggest that postnatal exposure to RES may affect estrogenic activity in specific peripheral tissues (e.g., the gonads), while inducing antiestrogenic effects in the brain. Thus, the present study supports recent in vitro and in vivo findings that RES differs from most other phytoestrogens by acting as a possible mixed ER agonist/antagonist, depending on the tissue-specific availability of ER subtypes that are preferentially localized in specific brain regions and throughout the reproductive tract. More importantly these data indicate that maternal consumption of phytoestrogens during lactation can have lasting effects on the offspring that may not become apparent until they reach adulthood. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 16679765

Thank you.

The safety of resveratrol during human pregnancy has not been established. Studies in rodents have given contradictory results. It may prevent birth defects from environmental contaminants according to more than one study. However another study found high dose resveratrol resulted in earlier sexual maturity in offspring, and longer estrus cycles at maturity. Another study showed administration of high doses during lactation had effeminizing effects on male offspring. I suspect a low dose, maybe two hundred mg, might be protective without causing later developmental problems, and that it would take very high doses to cause problems. That your wife conceived so easily when taking resveratrol might be due its effect of preventing defects in fetal development; most miscarriages and failure of the fetus to implant are due to such defects. However, after the third month I doubt there are malformations to worry about, and the potential estrogenic effect on fetal sexual development that occurs after the first trimester could be worrisome. Cutting the dose and stopping until the child is weaned is probably the wisest course of action.

Eur J Pharmacol. 2008 Sep 4;591(1-3):280-3. Epub 2008 May 28.
Antiteratogenic effect of resveratrol in mice exposed in utero to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Jang JY, Park D, Shin S, Jeon JH, Choi BI, Joo SS, Hwang SY, Nahm SS, Kim YB.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 361-763, Republic of Korea.
The effect of resveratrol, an aryl hydrocarbon receptor antagonist, on the teratogenicity induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was investigated. Pregnant C57BL/6J mice were orally administered resveratrol (50 mg/kg) for 6 consecutive days, from gestational day (GD) 8 to GD13, followed by an oral challenge with TCDD (14 mug/kg) on GD12. TCDD caused severe fetal malformations including cleft palate (40.7%), renal pelvic dilatation (100%, mean score 3.060), and ureteric dilatation (100%, mean score 3.210) and tortuosity (95.1%). Resveratrol significantly reduced both the incidence of TCDD-induced cleft palate to 18.4% and the degrees of renal pelvic and ureteric dilatations caused by TCDD. The results suggest that pretreatment with resveratrol might bring a beneficial outcome for reducing the incidence and severity of fetal malformations caused by TCDD exposure in utero.
PMID: 18571640

Reprod Toxicol. 2004 Aug-Sep;18(6):803-11. Links
Effects of maternal xenoestrogen exposure on development of the reproductive tract and mammary gland in female CD-1 mouse offspring.

Nikaido Y, Yoshizawa K, Danbara N, Tsujita-Kyutoku M, Yuri T, Uehara N, Tsubura A.
Department of Pathology II, Kansai Medical University, Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8506, Japan.
The objective of this study was to examine the effects of maternal exposure to xenoestrogen, at levels comparable to or greater than human exposure, on development of the reproductive tract and mammary glands in female CD-1 mouse offspring. Effects of genistein (GEN), resveratrol (RES), zearalenone (ZEA), bisphenol A (BPA) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) were examined. Beginning on gestational day 15, pregnant CD-1 mice were administered four daily subcutaneous injections with 0.5 or 10 mg/kg/day of GEN, RES, ZEA or BPA, 0.5 or 10 microg/kg/day of DES dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), or DMSO vehicle (n = 6). Vaginal opening was monitored, 6 animals per group were autopsied at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age and estrous cyclicity was monitored from 9 to 11 weeks of age. Maternal exposure to xenoestrogen accelerated puberty onset (vaginal opening) and increased the length of the estrous cycle; mice treated with GEN, RES, BPA or DES spent more time in diestrus, and ZEA-treated mice spent more time in estrus. Lack of corpora lutea and vaginal cornification were observed at 4 weeks of age in the high-dose GEN (33%) and RES (17%) groups, and in the high- and low-dose BPA groups (33 and 50%, respectively) and DES groups (83 and 100%, respectively). Lack of corpora lutea and vaginal cornification was observed in the high-dose ZEA group at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age (83, 100, 83 and 33%, respectively). Mammary gland differentiation was accelerated in ZEA- and BPA-treated mice with corpora lutea at 4 weeks of age. ZEA-treated mice without corpora lutea showed mammary growth arrest at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age; their mammary glands consisted only of a dilatated duct filled with secreted fluid. Mammary gland growth was similar with xenoestrogens other than ZEA or BPA to that of the controls at all time points. High-dose GEN and RES and high- and low-dose BPA and DES exerted transient effects on the reproductive tract and mammary glands, whereas ZEA exerted prolonged effects.
PMID: 15279878

Dev Neurosci. 2006;28(3):186-95.
Effects of neonatal resveratrol exposure on adult male and female reproductive physiology and behavior.

Henry LA, Witt DM.
Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA. l-henry2@northwestern.edu
Resveratrol (RES) is a phytoestrogen that has the ability to bind to estrogen receptors (ERs) and evoke biological effects that parallel those exerted by endogenous and synthetic estrogens. We have shown in previous studies that adult female rats acutely exposed to RES exhibit estrous cycle irregularity, ovarian hypertrophy, and alterations in sociosexual behavior. The present experiment characterizes the prolonged effects of maternal RES exposure throughout the lactational period on subsequent behavior, reproductive tissues, and brain morphology of the adult offspring. During adulthood, female offspring exposed to RES throughout nursing exhibited reduced body weight and increased ovarian weight, but exhibited normal estrous cyclicity and sociosexual behavior, without changes in the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area or the anteroventral periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. During adulthood, males exposed to RES throughout nursing exhibited decreased body weight and plasma testosterone concentration, increased testicular weight, and reduced sociosexual behavior. These males also had significantly smaller sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area volumes and larger anteroventral periventricular nucleus volumes compared to male controls. These data suggest that postnatal exposure to RES may affect estrogenic activity in specific peripheral tissues (e.g., the gonads), while inducing antiestrogenic effects in the brain. Thus, the present study supports recent in vitro and in vivo findings that RES differs from most other phytoestrogens by acting as a possible mixed ER agonist/antagonist, depending on the tissue-specific availability of ER subtypes that are preferentially localized in specific brain regions and throughout the reproductive tract. More importantly these data indicate that maternal consumption of phytoestrogens during lactation can have lasting effects on the offspring that may not become apparent until they reach adulthood. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 16679765

Thank you all for the excellent advise, and taking the time. I've decided I'm going to ask her to halve the dose for two days then halve it again for two more days before stopping completely. Now wish us luck. Some of the stats I've been reading are quite sobering. There's over a 50% chance we will miscarry. If we make it full term, the chances are 1 in 26 of a chromosomal disorder.

Most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, and there is a 96% chance there will be no chromosomal disorder.

Don't forget to test 25(OH)D and supplement vitamin D accordingly. A prenatal vitamin won't be enough. One of Cannell's recent newsletters discussed vitamin D http://www.vitamindc...eficiency.shtml

Hey, it occurred to me my wife started "low carbing" about the time she started taking resv. I just did a search on fertility and low carb diets and it turns out there's loads of testimonials about women getting pregnant after starting a low carb diet. Maybe the res did have something to do with it, my wife is 44, but I'm now leaning more toward the low carb as the culprit.

I wish I had come across this earlier. It would have made it easier to stop taking. Anyway, my wife is still carrying. We're nowhere near through the first trimester, but I'd say it's more than likely we'll be having this baby.

I wish I had come across this earlier. It would have made it easier to stop taking. Anyway, my wife is still carrying. We're nowhere near through the first trimester, but I'd say it's more than likely we'll be having this baby.

That's great to hear, sage. I hope that she keeps consuming the healthy oils (olive, fish, etc). That's gotta help.

Resveratrol baby is here... and perfectly healthy! Baby girl born on the 9th. I was overly worried about the chance of birth defects especially at the very beginning of the pregnancy and the very end so it was quite a relief that she is fine. Thanks again to all who provided wise advise to me.

Sage

Resveratrol baby is here... and perfectly healthy! Baby girl born on the 9th. I was overly worried about the chance of birth defects especially at the very beginning of the pregnancy and the very end so it was quite a relief that she is fine. Thanks again to all who provided wise advise to me.

Sage

glad to hear she was born well. keep in mind though, you probably shouldn't be looking for 'overt' defects, per se (like a physical issue). you need to be cognizant of metabolic abnormalities that can occur over the lifespan of a child. for example, premies who are born (below average weight) and later experience a catch-up growth phase during infancy are essentially programmed for diabetes later in life. they have vastly higher rates of diabetes in their 30's and 40's, and often kidney problems. it becomes a metabolic in-born error, so to speak.

she'll probably be fine, but you have to be mindful of the child's development overtime, not at one clear point in time.