Resveratrol Linked to Blindness Prevention

Red-wine compound reduces abnormal blood-vessel growth in the eye

Past studies have found that resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found abundantly in red wine and grapes, helps reduce inflammation of the arteries. Now, a paper published in the July issue of the American Journal of Pathology, finds the chemical lowers blood-vessel growth in the eye, thereby reducing symptoms associated with the leading causes of blindness.
Researchers at the ophthalmology department at Washington University in St. Louis working with pharmacologists at R.W. Johnson medical school in New Jersey found that resveratrol, when administered in high doses, helps block the formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, in mouse retinas. Angiogenesis in healthy patients is normally balanced, but when vessels grow out of control, the result is symptomatic of several cancers as well as age-related diseases such as diabetic blindness and macular degeneration.