Resveretrol and Your Brain

August 08, 2016 

Resveratrol and your Brain

 

 Reference: Science Daily July 2016, Neurology,   


You've heard of leaky gut, right? That's where the integrity of the gut membrane is compromised and larger molecules can leak in, setting your immune system off to make inflammation and set you up for auto-immune disease. 


Did you know there is another barrier between the outside world and your delicate cells? That's the lining of your blood vessels, called the vascular endothelium. It can also help hold bad stuff back. The final barrier between the outside world and the most delicate cells of all, your brain cells, is the blood brain barrier. It too can be damaged. Leaky brain is a new concept that we are beginning to understand. That we can now measure markers to indicate "leaky brain" through Cyrex Labs helps. And then we can prove that we are repairing it. 


That is all part of Bredesen's brain health protocol. Folks with Alzheimer's disease have leaky brain. Leaky gut and leaky brain appear to go together. That is what this weeks study did. The researchers took a subset of 19 Alzheimer's patients with 19 controls and did spinal taps to prove the level of leaky brain. That you can do by measuring the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in their spinal fluid. MMP-9 rises with leaky brain. You want it lower. When there are high levels of MMP-9, other substances can leak into the brain, causing damage. 


The experimental group was given 500 mg a day of resveratrol. That's where the 1000 bottles of wine comes in. Those folks who got the resveratrol got a 50% improvement in their MMP-9 levels. Their brains also shrank a little. Yes, got a bit smaller. Alarming as that sounds, that may reflect reduction in inflammation, which is exactly what we want. An inflamed, injured, sprained ankle is big. You want small. We do want a big brain, but not made large from inflammation. 


 WWW.What will work for me?  Well, drinking 1,000 bottles of wine will do anyone in. Alcohol is a metabolic poison over a glass a day. Resveratrol has been hotly debated and despite much ebb and flow, hasn't been a huge hit yet. Some of the folks in the study got some side effects. The question is all about risk/benefit. If I'm worried about my brain, I may consider taking it. But not without having some marker to show that I get better when I do. Getting a contrast enhanced MRI scan of my brain is an expensive test. If it shows I'm saving my brain, hmmm. May be worth it. When your insurance policy sends you a $ 3500 bill for the MRI, you may think differently. This all has to be ironed out. I'm curious. 


 Pop Quiz


1. Resveratrol has been shown to reduce signs of inflammation in Alzheimer's brains? T or F?         Answer  T, if you call a 50% reduction in MMP-9 a good thing ‪

2. Resveratol has generally been shown to help human health. T or F?                Answer:    Well, not yet. Despite it being on the shelf at Costco and every other health food outlet in America. ‪

3. It is dangerous to take resveratol. T or F?        Answer:   False,   Probably not. ‪

4. Alzheimer's has been shown to have leaky brain. T or F?                  Answer.  True. By MRI and by spinal tap. This is all still research stuff. ‪

5. Should I call the office to get a spinal tap if I'm worried.                     Answer:   Whoa Nellie. Nice idea, not ready for prime time yet.

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