Resveratrol boosts heart health of type 2 diabetes patients: Japanese RCT

The Toho University Sakura Medical Center conducted a placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial (RCT) involving 50 type 2 diabetes patients who had been divided into two groups, and found that arterial stiffness (atherosclerosis) and oxidative stress had been significantly reduced in the resveratrol-supplemented group.

These results followed 12 weeks of oral resveratrol supplementation, after which body weight and BMI in the resveratrol group were also found to have dipped slightly. At the same time, systolic blood pressure decreased significantly.

The study stated that the measurement of arterial stiffness is considered a “good physiological surrogate marker for vascular injury because it can detect reversible vascular disorders, and is useful to assess the effect of treatments”​.

Resveratrol supplementation over 12 weeks was also shown to decrease oxidative stress, which is known to increase in diabetic conditions.

Underlying mechanisms

The study further stated that the lowered oxidative stress and weight loss observed in the study may be jointly involved in the mechanisms that alleviate arterial stiffness.

However, the possibility that other underlying mechanisms might be responsible was raised, with the previously proven ability of resveratrol to improve endothelial function being one such mechanism.

Despite the overall positive effects of resveratrol supplementation on oxidative stress and arterial stiffness in type 2 diabetes patients, the relatively small sample size and short study period of the RCT meant that resveratrol’s long-term effects were still unclear and as such, “further large-scale blind studies with longer follow-up periods and a cross-over design may be necessary”​.

The study concluded that resveratrol might be useful in preventing the development of diabetes-induced atherosclerosis, but added that “a large-scale cohort study is required to validate the present findings”​.

Source: International Heart Journal​

http://doi.org/10.1536/ihj.16-373​

“Resveratrol Ameliorates Arterial Stiffness Assessed by Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus”​

Authors: Haruki Imamura, et al.​