Wine related articles
Wine Suggested as Chemo Aid
Matt Piacenza - August
10, 2005
Albany Med researcher thinks the alcohol can counter effects of harsh cancer treatments.
First came the news that
a compound in red wine could fight heart disease: Salud! Then, candy
makers boasted that an element in dark chocolate may boost overall
cardiovascular health: You're the man, Augustus Gloop.
Now a researcher at Albany Medical College is probing another benefit of red wine: Dr. Rebecca Keller hopes to use resveratrol, a chemical derived from red wine, to offset the harsh side effects of a powerful chemotherapy drug.
The chemo drug doxorubicin helps beat back leukemia and other deadly cancers and blood disorders, but often leads to heart muscle damage.
Keller hopes that by adding the equivalent of a splash of Beaujolais, she can keep the heart safe while still fighting cancer. She has four years to test the theory, thanks to a $719,000 grant from the American Cancer Society.
"We know it helps the heart," said Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, the cancer society's regional vice president. "Can we also have it help limit some of the side effects in the chemotherapy regime?"
Initial results are promising, said Keller, an assistant professor in Albany Med's Center for Cardiovascular Sciences. Her task now is to test the effectiveness of synthetic resveratrol and to figure out how the antioxidant helps keep the heart muscle healthy.
Other researchers are exploring the mechanisms by which compounds in dark chocolate, called flavonoids, boost heart health. They may even lower blood pressure, according to a recently published Italian study.
Time to stop at your friendly neighborhood Godiva shop on the way home tonight? Two boxes a week, perhaps?
Not so fast, say nutritionists. The precepts for good heart and cardiovascular health are the same as they've been for decades: Eat less. Exercise more. Quit smoking. Eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
"It kind of tugs at your heart strings that you could eat more chocolate and have it be good for your heart," said Sharon Wright, the chief clinical dietitian for Seton Health. "But eating a low-fat diet is a better thing to focus on."
Antioxidants that can protect the heart are found in foods that don't have the drawbacks that chocolate or alcohol have, such as blueberries or cranberries, Wright pointed out.
Even a small amount of chocolate can be rich: Participants in the Italian study ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate a day, which adds up to 227 calories, Wright noted.
What researchers believe is that antioxidants, such as flavonoids or the resveratrol in red wine, work to counteract the impact of free radicals, elements that kill the body's cells. When enough cardiac cells die, the heart muscle can't pump enough blood, which can lead to heart attack and death.
Free radicals occur naturally in the body or are produced by environmental contaminants or medications, such as doxorubicin. Antioxidants themselves disarm those radicals and they stimulate healthy heart cells to produce their own antioxidants, Keller said.
The side effects of doxorubicin, a drug that has helped millions fight cancer, are serious: Between 7 and 20 percent develop heart disease after taking it, according to Keller. Doctors have to limit its use even though it works well, because of the heart damage.
Keller hopes that the resveratrol will not only boost antioxidants, but will itself kill cancer cells, a finding from other researchers.
"Our hope is by using both resveratrol and doxorubicin, you will be able to use the doxorubicin longer," said Keller. "That would give them a really good chemotherapy agent for the long haul."
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