Daily non-political popular news in brief.

A Toast to Healthy Hearts: Wine compounds benefit blood vessels

12-02-2006 · Science News Online

Researchers have identified a class of compounds in red wine that might be responsible for much of the beverage's cardiovascular benefit.

Keywords: toast, healthy, hearts, wine, compounds, benefit, blood, vessels, heart, compound, vessel

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "A Toast to Healthy Hearts: Wine compounds benefit blood vessels":

Advance in understanding of blood pressure gene could lead to new treatments
02-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
Research by scientists at UCL (University College London) has clearly demonstrated for the first time the structure and function of a gene crucial to the regulation of blood pressure. The discovery could be important in the search for new treatments for illnesses such as heart disease, the UK's biggest killer. In a paper published online today in Nature Medicine, the team, led by Professor Patrick Vallance and Dr James Leiper, UCL Department of Medicine, reveal the role of the human gene dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), showing that loss of DDAH activity disrupts nitric oxide (NO) production. NO is critical in the regulation of blood pressure, nervous system functions and the immune system. The role of DDAH is to break down modified amino acids (Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and monomethyl arginine (L-NMMA)) that are produced by the body and have been shown to inhibit NO synthase. These molecules accumulate in various disease states including diabetes, renal failure and pulmonary and systemic hypertension, and their concentration in plasma (the fluid component of blood) is strongly predicative of cardiovascular disease and death. In a healthy human body, the majority of ADMA is eliminated through active metabolism by DDAH. Scientists have hypothesised that if DDAH function is impaired, NO production is reduced, and that this could be an important feature of increased cardiovascular risk. To examine this pathway in more detail, the researchers deleted the DDAH gene in mice. These mice went on to develop hypertension, or high blood pressure. They also designed specific inhibitors (small molecules) which bind to the active site of human DDAH. These small molecule inhibitors also induced hypertension in mice, confirming the importance of DDAH in the regulation of blood pressure. Dr Leiper, UCL Medicine, said: “These genetic and chemical approaches to disrupt DDAH showed remarkably consistent results, and provide compelling evidence that loss of DDAH function increases the concentration of ADMA and thereby disrupts vascular NO signalling. “There has been considerable scientific interest in this pathway and the role of ADMA as a novel risk factor, but so far there's been little evidence to support the idea that it's a cause of disease, rather than just a marker. Genes and their pathways are crucial to our understanding of cardiovascular disease and a better understanding of DDAH-1 could lead to important new treatments. “It could help us to establish if genetic variation predisposes certain people to these diseases, or whether environmental factors exert some of their effects through modulation of DDAH activity. “Our research also shows that this pathway could be harnessed therapeutically to limit production of NO in certain situations where too much nitric oxide is a bad thing; for example, hypotension and septic shock. These are some of the biggest problems in intensive care medicine and there is a huge unmet need for drug treatments.” The study, which was carried out at UCL's Rayne Institute, was funded by grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The unexpected finding in the 1980s that a simple gas, nitric oxide (NO), is made by cells in the blood vessel wall and is a powerful control of blood vessel relaxation led to the award of the Nobel Prize in 1998 to its discoverers. "More recently, there has been increasing evidence that impairment of NO production is likely to be an important factor in the development of heart and circulatory disease, but the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. "This study suggests for the first time that the loss of the activity of the enzyme DDAH-1 leads to reduced NO production and may cause heart and circulatory disease. These findings are likely to be important in the search for new ways to optimise the health of our blood vessels." ### Notes for Editors 1. For more information, please contact Ruth Metcalfe in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9739, mobile: +44 (0)7990 675 947, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: r.metcalfe@ucl.ac.uk2. 'Disruption of methylarginine metabolism impairs vascular homeostasis' is published in the February issue of the journal Nature Medicine. Advance online publication is embargoed to 18.00 GMT (13.00 US Eastern) Sunday 4 February 2007. Journalists can obtain copies of the paper by contacting the UCL Media Relations Office.3. The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. About UCL Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. In the government's most recent Research Assessment Exercise, 59 UCL departments achieved top ratings of 5* and 5, indicating research quality of international excellence. UCL is the fourth-ranked UK university in the 2006 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Mahatma Gandhi (Laws 1889, Indian political and spiritual leader); Jonathan Dimbleby (Philosophy 1969, writer and television presenter); Junichiro Koizumi (Economics 1969, Prime Minister of Japan); Lord Woolf (Laws 1954, Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales); Alexander Graham Bell (Phonetics 1860s, inventor of the telephone), and members of the band Coldplay.
Similar news · Read more »
How fish mend a broken heart
11-02-2006 · EurekAlert!
New evidence to explain how a common tropical fish mends a broken heart may suggest methods for coaxing the damaged hearts of mammals to better heal, researchers report. The researchers found that the hearts of zebrafish harbor progenitor cells that spring into action to restore wounded heart muscle. Cells from a membrane layer that surrounds the heart, called the epicardium, follow suit, invading the wounded cardiac tissue and stimulating the growth of new blood vessels.
Similar news · Read more »
Chemical in red wine, fruits and vegetables stops cancer, heart disease, depending on the dose
10-30-2007 · EurekAlert!
The next cancer drug might come from the grocery store, according to research published in the November 2007 issue of the FASEB Journal. In the study, scientists describe how high and low doses of polyphenols have different effects. Most notably, they found that very high doses of polyphenols shut down and prevent tumors by stopping the formation of new blood vessels needed for growth. Polyphenols are found in red wine, fruits, vegetables and green tea.
Similar news · Read more »
New therapy could preserve vessel function after heart attack
09-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
Scientists have identified the process that causes blood vessels to constrict during and after a heart attack. They've also demonstrated that delivering a vital molecule that is depleted during this process directly to those blood vessels can reverse damage and help restore blood flow. The medical researchers say these findings have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with acute coronary episodes related to ischemia, and to ameliorate the restriction of blood supply to the heart.
Similar news · Read more »
Diesel exhaust may increase risk in patients with heart disease
09-12-2007 · EurekAlert!
Air pollution could be putting patients with heart disease at risk by affecting blood vessels and clotting, researchers warn. A study by the University of Edinburgh and UmeA University measured the effects of diesel exhaust on heart and blood vessel function in men who have previously experienced a heart attack.
Similar news · Read more »
Grape expectations for healthier wine
02-11-2007 · EurekAlert!
A new technique that uses ozone to preserve grapes could help prevent allergies and boost healthy compounds at the same time. The same technique could be used in the wine-making process to produce healthier wines without the added sulphites that can cause asthma and other conditions in some people. Treating grapes with ozone helps to prevent decay during storage, and has the added benefit of increasing levels of antioxidants four-fold.
Similar news · Read more »
Cardiac patches stimulate regeneration, improve function after heart attack
07-17-2007 · EurekAlert!
When human hearts are injured, as during a heart attack, healthy tissue normally can't regrow. Researchers now demonstrate in rats that a sponge-like patch, soaked in a compound called periostin and placed over the injury, can not only get heart cells to begin dividing and making copies of themselves again, but also improves heart function. Their findings appear in the July 15 online edition of Nature Medicine.
Similar news · Read more »
High blood pressure in older adults traced to gene's effects in blood vessels
01-10-2008 · EurekAlert!
Scientists have identified the gene that sets off a sequence of events in the blood vessels of otherwise healthy adults that can lead to high blood pressure. The disease process eventually makes conditions in vessels ripe for the creation of blockages that can cause heart attacks, strokes and circulatory problems. The finding might lead to new therapeutic options for high blood pressure, especially hypertension associated with aging.
Similar news · Read more »
Fat protein cuts blood vessel inflammation, may help heart, Jefferson scientists find
06-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
A natural substance from fat cells can protect blood vessels from the damaging effects of inflammation, which contributes to heart disease. Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have shown for the first time in an animal model that the substance - a protein called adiponectin - helps prevent immune system white blood cells from binding to the inside of blood vessel walls. Harnessing adiponectin's properties may help protect against blood vessel damage in patients with obesity and diabetes.
Similar news · Read more »
SAGE's American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine looks at the health benefit of oats
01-10-2008 · EurekAlert!
SAGE is pleased to announce that American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine is kicking off its second year of publication by publishing research about a key component of a heart healthy diet.
Similar news · Read more »