6/25/2010 PERMALINK
Resveratrol found in red wine may prevent some age-related blinding diseases. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis : Resveratrol, found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts and other plants, stops out-of-control blood vessel growth in the eye, according to vision researchers. The discovery has implications for preserving vision in blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 50. The formation of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, also plays a key role in certain cancers and in atherosclerosis. Conducting experiments in mouse retinas, the researchers found that resveratrol can inhibit angiogenesis. Another surprise was the pathway through which resveratrol blocked angiogenesis.