- BOSTON (Reuters) - Researchers
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.
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- 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 calorie restriction, a finding that could help researchers develop
drugs that lengthen life and prevent or treat aging-related diseases.
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- Researchers said on Sunday that one of the molecules,
a compound known as resveratrol, was shown in a study to extend the life
span of yeast cells by up to 80 percent. Resveratrol exists naturally in
grapes and red wine.
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- 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 multi-cellular organisms like worms, fruit flies and, perhaps, humans.
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- Sinclair, whose study appears in Sunday's advanced online
edition of the journal Nature, said tests on worms and flies were already
yielding "encouraging" results.
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- "I can't say any more because I will scoop my next
two publications," he said, adding that similar trials were already
being planned on mice.
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- "ENTHUSIASTIC" OVER RED WINE
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- Sinclair said he has become more "enthusiastic"
about the purported health benefits of red wine since his research began,
and that experts who have reviewed his findings have had a similar response.
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- "Not many people know about it yet, but those who
do have almost invariably changed their drinking habits, that is, they
drink more red wine," he told Reuters.
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- 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.
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- Sinclair said the latest study may help explain why moderate
consumption of red wine has been linked to lower incidence of heart disease
and why resveratrol prevents cancer in mice.
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- "We're connecting many dots with this study,"
he said.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Now, they say, they have found those molecules.
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- Sinclair's team partnered with BIOMOL, a Pennsylvania
company, to screen thousands of molecules to see which ones might activate
the enzymes.
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- Not only did they find a group of 18 molecules that fit
the bill -- resveratrol being just one -- but all of them came from plants
and were produced in response to harsh environmental conditions like drought.
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- "We think we know why these plants make these molecules.
We think it's part of their own defense response, and we also believe that
animals and fungi that live on the plants can pick up on these clues,"
he said.
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- To illustrate that theory, Sinclair noted that red wines
from regions with harsher growing conditions -- Spain, Chile, Argentina
and Australia -- contain more resveratrol than those produced where grapes
are not highly stressed or dehydrated.
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