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A red grape seed extract that packs the punch of red wine—without the alcohol— could help protect against memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease, research in mice suggests. Rodents prone to developing Alzheimer’s-like brain changes showed better cognitive function at 11 months of age — when they would have been expected to already have some memory impairment — if they were given the grape seed polyphenolic extract in their drinking water, researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found. Polyphenolic compounds are antioxidants naturally found in wine, tea, chocolate, and some fruits and vegetables. The mice in the study received levels of polyphenols equivalent to what a person would consume with a daily glass or two of red wine. Animals treated with the extract also performed significantly better on a standard test of spatial learning memory than rodents who didn’t receive it. But the extract did not improve maze performance in control mice, suggesting that it improved cognitive function in the Alzheimer’s prone rodents by reducing brain damage due to plaque formation. 

Fatty liver in kids tied to metabolic syndrome
In overweight or obese children, fatty liver disease appears to be a specific risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a precursor of heart disease and diabetes, according to a study appearing in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied 150 boys and girls ranging in age from 5 to 17 years who had been referred to a specialised clinic for obesity and/or suspected fatty liver disease. The results showed that the kids with fatty liver disease, compared to the control subjects, “had a significantly higher frequency” of abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and high fasting glucose levels—all factors that make up the metabolic syndrome. In fact, 50 percent of the kids with fatty liver disease could be classified as having metabolic syndrome, compared with 15 per cent of those without fatty liver.

Low vitamin B tied to hip fracture risk
Older adults who are low in B vitamins or have elevated levels of a blood protein called homocysteine may be at increased risk of suffering a hip fracture, new study findings suggest. The body’s homocysteine levels are known to go up when B vitamin levels are depleted. However, in the new study, researchers found that homocysteine and certain B vitamins were each independently linked to hip fracture risk. Among more than 1,000 elderly men and women, those who were deficient in vitamin B12 were 60 percent more likely than those with normal levels to sustain a hip fracture over four years. A similar risk was seen among those deficient in vitamin B6. When the researchers looked at homocysteine levels, they found that men and women with high levels were 50 to 70 per cent more likely to suffer a hip fracture— even when their B vitamin levels were taken into account.

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