09/11/2018 / By Cassie B.
As you age, your lungs start to deteriorate naturally. The amount of time it takes for them to age to a point that significantly reduces your quality of life depends on various environmental and genetic factors, but once it happens, it is nearly impossible to reverse. It also brings with it a high rate of death and an increased risk of diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
A new study from the Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has found that inhaling resveratrol can slow the age-related negative changes seen in mice lungs, and this could prove to be a useful treatment for humans in the future. Signs of aging lungs include decreased lung function and airspace enlargement.
Resveratrol is an antimicrobial chemical that is produced by plants to protect them from stress-related changes and infections. It can be found in red wine, grapes, and berries and has already been shown to carry a host of other benefits.
The researchers used a rapidly aging mouse model to investigate whether inhaling resveratrol could slow age-related lung changes. The goal of the research was to identify ways that people can protect and strengthen their lungs while they are young before any significant damage can set in.
At two months of age, the mice started receiving inhaled resveratrol treatments administered via the throat on a monthly basis over the course of three months. A month after the conclusion of the procedure, the mice’s lung structure, function, and cellular DNA damage were all analyzed.
They discovered that the inhaled treatment could indeed slow the rate at which lung function deteriorates, along with the alveolar enlargement and cell DNA damage that is typically seen in the earlier stages of lung aging. Therefore, they believe that delivering resveratrol directly to lungs could help as a lung aging intervention, reducing the risk of chronic lung disease.
Study author Dr. Barbara Driscoll said: “We believe that ours is the first study to demonstrate a beneficial effect of lung-directed resveratrol treatments on aging lung function.”
Their findings were published in the Thorax journal.