Red wine may prevent eye diseases, research finds

'Resveratrol' is found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts and other plants. It inhibits the proliferation of new blood vessels that occur in eyes of older people, leading to age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

The neoteric study was done by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, and the University of Dentistry and Medicine of New Jersey.

Red wine instrumental in preventing many diseases
Recently, red wine has received a lot of attention for its purported health benefits.

Various studies have shown that resveratrol in red wine decreases the effects of ageing and also acts as an anti-cancer agent. It also aids cardio-vascular diseases like French Paradox.

Dr Rajendra Apte, who carried out the study, said, “A great deal of research has identified resveratrol as an anti-aging compound, and given our interest in age-related eye disease, we wanted to find out whether there was a link.”

He said that resveratrol can directly inhibit the development of abnormal blood vessels both within and outside the eyes.

In the experimental modeling on mouse and rats, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering, and other beneficial cardio-vascular effects of resveratrol were found.

Important inferences from research
A ‘significant reduction’ in the abnormal (malignant) growth of blood vessels in mice retina treated with the higher dose of resveratrol was observed.

Further analysis suggested that this reduced growth was possibly because of resveratrol activating an enzyme called ‘eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase’.

Most importantly, patients can consume resveratrol orally and avoid eye injections, but it is required in high doses in humans, as compared to mice.

Resveratrol can be easily absorbed by the human body.

These findings can be useful for the better understanding of diseases caused by blood vessel growth, and resveratrol could potentially be used to treat these disorders.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and several other charitable organizations and research institutes, was published in 'The American Journal of Pathology'.