Red wine prolongs life, study suggests

June 4, 2008|By NICHOLAS WADE The New York Times




Sirtris is seeking to develop drugs that activate protein agents known in people as sirtuins.

Scientists have long derided the idea of life-extending elixirs, but the door has now been opened to drugs that exploit a biological survival mechanism, that of switching the body's resources from fertility to tissue maintenance. The improved tissue maintenance seems to extend life by cutting down on the degenerative diseases of aging.

The reflex can be prompted by a famine-like diet, known as caloric restriction, which extends the life of laboratory rodents by up to 30 percent, but is far too hard for most people to keep to and has not been proven to work in humans.

Dr. David Sinclair of the Harvard Medical School, a co-founder of the company, found in 2003 that sirtuins could be activated by natural compounds, including resveratrol, previously known as just an ingredient of certain red wines.

Sinclair's finding led in several directions. He and others have tested resveratrol's effects in mice, mostly at doses far higher than the minuscule amounts present in red wine.

Sirtris has been testing resveratrol and other drugs that activate sirtuin. These drugs are small molecules, more stable than resveratrol, and can be given in smaller doses.

Separately, a research team led by Tomas A. Prolla and Richard Weindruch, of the University of Wisconsin, reports in the journal PLoS One today that resveratrol may be effective in mice and people in much lower doses than previously thought necessary.

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