Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Wine & Longevity

Aired August 26, 2003 - 08:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on vacation this week. However, in medical news this morning, could the ever-elusive formula for the fountain of youth simply be less dine and more red wine? That's the finding of some researchers who say lower caloric intake and a certain class of chemicals found in red wine might help people live longer.
From Boston today, Harvard medical school researcher David Sinclair, who's leading that investigation joins us to explain it all to us.

Good morning, professor. How are you.

DAVID SINCLAIR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Well, thanks. Good morning.

HEMMER: What's in the wine?

SINCLAIR: Well, there's a small chemical. It's got a complex name. It's called resveratrol, hard to say, but it turns out that this molecule we found can extend lifespan, at least in simple organisms.

HEMMER: And how does that do that?

SINCLAIR: Well, Really this research has gone on for about 10 years now, and my lab and other labs are looking for genes that control the aging process, and we found a group of genes called the sirtuins (ph), and they seem to regulate. These are the guardians of the cells in simple organisms and possibly in our cells, and what we've got for the first time here are potential drugs that can target these guardians and tell them to do a better job of protecting ourselves against aging.

HEMMER: I want to get back to drugs in a second here. We've got a screen where we're going to show our viewers here. It's not just red wind apparently where you find this chemical know as resveratrol -- red wine, peanuts, you say, grape seed oil as well.

The drugs you mentioned, is this two years away? Is this 10 years away? How far away?

SINCLAIR: Well, we're probably closer than I ever thought. We have tested these in simple organisms, and it's extending lifespan up to 70 percent, but we haven't tested these yet in mice, which is the next step. So maybe in a year or even two, I can tell you if it's looking really promising. In terms of making a drug out of this, well, maybe 20 years, but that's certainly sooner than I ever thought possible.

HEMMER: Talk about longevity. Let me get a better explanation and more simple one for you. What you're saying when you reduce the caloric intake for mice, it triggers some sort of reaction within the mouse itself that helps it age slower. Is that a little more accurate, to put simply?

SINCLAIR: Yes, that's well put. This was discovered way back 70 years ago that if you restrict the amount of food that rats get somehow and we still don't fully understand how, they are protected against the diseases of old age. That includes heart disease, osteoporosis, and even cancer, and it's miraculous that this occurs, and what's great is it seems to occur in every animal we've ever tested, including things like baker's yeast (ph).

HEMMER: How is it if you're live longer as an animal? Do you live a better life still? are you healthy?

SINCLAIR: See, this is the really good news. What we're looking at is the potential to be able to slow down aging, but also protect us against the diseases that cause us to feel horrible in old age. If we can just slow down how soon we get cancer and heart disease, we'll have not only a longer life, but a healthier one, too.

HEMMER: A couple more questions here, too. You don't have much time on this. You say that you find this chemical more in red wines grown in cooler climes like upstate New York. Why in the world, or what in the world explains that?

SINCLAIR: Well, I don't have much time, but in a nutshell, what we think that these guardians of cells that are found in not only humans, but plants, are turned on by types of mild stress, things like cooler climates, infection, and if grapes get these stresses, then they produce more of the molecules, so you want to go for vines where they are stressed by the harvest.

HEMMER: Well, listen, it's interesting, if nothing else. Maybe it's 20 years away, maybe it'll never come, but nonetheless, good luck to you in the research. David Sinclair from our Boston bureau this morning, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 26, 2003 - 08:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on vacation this week. However, in medical news this morning, could the ever-elusive formula for the fountain of youth simply be less dine and more red wine? That's the finding of some researchers who say lower caloric intake and a certain class of chemicals found in red wine might help people live longer.
From Boston today, Harvard medical school researcher David Sinclair, who's leading that investigation joins us to explain it all to us.

Good morning, professor. How are you.

DAVID SINCLAIR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Well, thanks. Good morning.

HEMMER: What's in the wine?

SINCLAIR: Well, there's a small chemical. It's got a complex name. It's called resveratrol, hard to say, but it turns out that this molecule we found can extend lifespan, at least in simple organisms.

HEMMER: And how does that do that?

SINCLAIR: Well, Really this research has gone on for about 10 years now, and my lab and other labs are looking for genes that control the aging process, and we found a group of genes called the sirtuins (ph), and they seem to regulate. These are the guardians of the cells in simple organisms and possibly in our cells, and what we've got for the first time here are potential drugs that can target these guardians and tell them to do a better job of protecting ourselves against aging.

HEMMER: I want to get back to drugs in a second here. We've got a screen where we're going to show our viewers here. It's not just red wind apparently where you find this chemical know as resveratrol -- red wine, peanuts, you say, grape seed oil as well.

The drugs you mentioned, is this two years away? Is this 10 years away? How far away?

SINCLAIR: Well, we're probably closer than I ever thought. We have tested these in simple organisms, and it's extending lifespan up to 70 percent, but we haven't tested these yet in mice, which is the next step. So maybe in a year or even two, I can tell you if it's looking really promising. In terms of making a drug out of this, well, maybe 20 years, but that's certainly sooner than I ever thought possible.

HEMMER: Talk about longevity. Let me get a better explanation and more simple one for you. What you're saying when you reduce the caloric intake for mice, it triggers some sort of reaction within the mouse itself that helps it age slower. Is that a little more accurate, to put simply?

SINCLAIR: Yes, that's well put. This was discovered way back 70 years ago that if you restrict the amount of food that rats get somehow and we still don't fully understand how, they are protected against the diseases of old age. That includes heart disease, osteoporosis, and even cancer, and it's miraculous that this occurs, and what's great is it seems to occur in every animal we've ever tested, including things like baker's yeast (ph).

HEMMER: How is it if you're live longer as an animal? Do you live a better life still? are you healthy?

SINCLAIR: See, this is the really good news. What we're looking at is the potential to be able to slow down aging, but also protect us against the diseases that cause us to feel horrible in old age. If we can just slow down how soon we get cancer and heart disease, we'll have not only a longer life, but a healthier one, too.

HEMMER: A couple more questions here, too. You don't have much time on this. You say that you find this chemical more in red wines grown in cooler climes like upstate New York. Why in the world, or what in the world explains that?

SINCLAIR: Well, I don't have much time, but in a nutshell, what we think that these guardians of cells that are found in not only humans, but plants, are turned on by types of mild stress, things like cooler climates, infection, and if grapes get these stresses, then they produce more of the molecules, so you want to go for vines where they are stressed by the harvest.

HEMMER: Well, listen, it's interesting, if nothing else. Maybe it's 20 years away, maybe it'll never come, but nonetheless, good luck to you in the research. David Sinclair from our Boston bureau this morning, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com