Resveratrol clears out Alzheimer's beta-amyloid protein within the cell

Beta-amyloid protein is the villain that destroys the brain in Alzheimer's disease. There is a molecule inside our cells called proteasome that breaks down damaged or unwanted proteins. As it turns out, Resveratrol stimulates the breakdown of beta-amyloid protein within the cell by the proteasome molecule. Resveratrol markedly lowered the level of intracellular beta-amyloid protein. The authors state that this study suggests that Resveratrol has a therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease. The research was performed at The Litwin-Zucker research Center for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Institute for Medical research, in Manhasset, NY, and is published in the September 2005 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

Do not just depend on medication to lower your cholesterol, focus on diet and nutrition and include plant sterol containing foods or plant sterol containing supplements as part of your daily healthy lifestyle.

Sulforaphane may protect the lungs of smokers

Previously we (the researchers) have shown that naturally occurring isothyocyanates from cabbage family vegetables and their NAC conjugate inhibit the formation of adenomas (noncancerous tumors) in the lung in mice caused by tobacco. This study was undertaken to see if the cabbage ingredients can inhibit the transformation from an adenoma to cancer (when an adenoma changes into cancer it is called an adenocarcinoma). Mice were treated with benzo(a)pyrene and NNK - two tobacco carcinogens, for 8 weeks to cause lung cancer. Twenty weeks later it was found that the mice developed from 3 to 12 adenomas each in a sacrificed group. Groups of the mice were fed phenethyl isothiocyanate or sulforaphane or the same compounds attached to NAC. All four phytochemicals had an impact on decreasing the conversion of adenomas to lung cancer. The carcinogen treated mice developed on average, one lung cancer tumor a piece. Whereas sulforaphane cut the multiplication of lung tumors to 0.3. The study was performed at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer center, Georgetown University Medical Center and is published in the September 15th, 2005 issue of the journal Cancer Research.