A clinical trial has shown that an investigational new drug made out of a naturally occurring compound that is found in foods such as red grapes and some red wines may stop Alzheimer's progress, NDTV reports.
The trial showed that a high-dose of resveratrol, given to patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, stabilized a biomarker that declines when Alzheimer progresses.
R Scott Turner, the study's principal investigator from Georgetown University Medical Centre in Washington, DC. said that the results "are very interesting."
Under the study that lasted for two years from 2012-2014, the researchers studied 119 participants suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.
While one group of the patients was given resveratrol every day, others in the control group received a placebo.
The group of patients who were treated with increasing doses of resveratrol over one year showed little or no change in amyloid-beta40 (Abeta40) protein levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.
"A decrease in Abeta40 is seen as dementia worsens and Alzheimer's disease progresses; still, we cannot conclude from this study that the effects of resveratrol treatment are beneficial," Turner explained, according to NDTV.
In comparison, the group taking a placebo had a decrease in the levels of Abeta40.
The study was published online in the journal Neurology.
