Read the rest.Drug Doubles Endurance, Study Says
By NICHOLAS WADEGiven that some athletes will take almost anything to gain a one percent edge in performance, what might they do for a 100 percent improvement? That temptation is made somewhat more real by a report today in a leading journal about a drug that doubles the physical endurance of mice running on treadmills. And it could only be more tempting, because the drug in question has also been reported to extend the lifespan of mice.
An ordinary lab mouse will run about one kilometer — five-eights of a mile — on a treadmill before collapsing from exhaustion. But mice given resveratrol, a minor component of red wine and other foods, run twice as far.
They also have a reduced heart rate and energy-charged muscles, just as trained athletes do, according to an article published online in Cell by Johan Auwerx and his colleagues at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Illkirch, France.
“Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training,” Dr. Auwerx (pronounced OH-wer-ix”) said in an interview.
He and his colleagues said the same mechanism seems likely to operate in humans, based on their analysis, in a group of Finnish subjects, of the gene that is influenced by the drug.
Their rationale for testing resveratrol was evidence obtained three years ago that it could activate a genetic mechanism known to protect mice against the degenerative diseases of aging and to prolong their lifespan by 30 percent.
Dr. Auwerx, whose interest is in the genetic control of metabolism, decided to see if resveratrol would offset the effects of a high-fat diet, specifically the metabolic disturbances, known as metabolic syndrome, that are the precursors of diabetes and obesity.
In his report, he and his colleagues say that very large doses of resveratrol protected mice from gaining weight and from developing metabolic syndrome.
Dr. Auwerx attributes this change in large part to the significantly increased number of mitochondria he detected in the muscle cells of treated mice.
Mitochondria are the organelles within the body’s cells that generate energy. With increased mitochondria, the treated mice were able to burn off more fat and thus avoid weight gain and decreased sensitivity to insulin, Dr. Auwerx said. He found that their muscle fibers had been remodeled by the drug into the type more prevalent in trained human athletes.
Dr. Ronald M. Evans, a leading expert on the hormonal control of metabolism at the Salk Institute, said that the report by Dr. Auwerx’s team had “shown very convincingly that resveratrol improves mitochondrial function” and fends off metabolic disease.
Dr. Evans described the study as “very important, because it is rare that we identify orally active molecules, especially natural molecules, that have such a broad-based, positive effect on a problem as widespread in society as metabolic disease.”
Rather than work directly with resveratrol, however, since it is a natural substance that can't be patented, these "scientists" are trying to find other ways to hit the same protein systems in the body that resveratrol hits, but with a drug they can patent and get rich from.
But if you want to try this wonder chemical, you're not likely to get enough of it from diet alone to have any impact. Some supplement companies are already marketing a supplement based on older research that shows resveratrol lowers estrogen levels, both endogenous and exogenous, limits conversion of testosterone to estrogen, and has a few other nice health benefits.
I have been taking a supplement of resveratrol for a while with seemingly good results, but it's all subjective.
1 comment:
Awesome post! Have you had a chance to watch 60 Minutes or Barbra Walters segments last weekend about it?
It show promise in mice. For mice, has shown major health improvements including blood sugar control. Keep in mind that 6 out of 10 major drug successes in mice - fail in humans. But the limited human trials showed promise and there are some patients that claim it helps. However, this could be the 'placebo effect,' and only empirical data under controlled experiments can tell for sure. It will take a few years for these clinical trials to conclude.
You can get supplements of the extract right now. While it is safe, it is not guaranteed to work. Before making a decision, you should watch all the videos. Here's the a recap from all the trustworthy shows:
http://resveratrolcertifiedsupplements.com/?page_id=4
I did some research and learned the following: You can only get 1-2mgs of it in a single bottle of wine. So, white, it's a good excuse to drink wine, but you really won't get much benefit. There are resveratrol supplements on the market - but many do not have the required strength and they don't work for everyone. The only way to know for sure is to try the supplements. Hope you find this interesting... its a future hope for the fountain of youth and treatments (not cures) for countless diseases.
-Linda, the Good Nurse.
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