EAE cure of the Week-Grape Juice

Giacoppo S, Galuppo M, Lombardo GE, Ulaszewska MM, Mattivi F, Bramanti P, Mazzon E, Navarra M. Neuroprotective effects of a polyphenolic white grape juice extract in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Fitoterapia. 2015 Apr 8. pii: S0367-326X(15)00093-3. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2015.04.003. [Epub ahead of print]

In the last 20 years, wine phenolic compounds have received increasing interest since several epidemiological studies have suggested associations between regular consumption of moderate amount of wine and prevention of certain chronic pathologies, such as neurodegenerative diseases. This study was aimed to investigate the possible neuroprotective role of a polyphenolic white grape juice extract (WGJe) in an experimental mice model of autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the most commonly used model for multiple sclerosis (MS) in vivo. EAE mimics the main features of MS, including paralysis, weight loss, demyelination, central nervous system (CNS) inflammation and blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown. Our study demonstrated that oral administration of WGJe (20 and 40 mg/Kg/day) may exert neuroprotective effects against MS, diminishing both clinical signs and histological score typical of disease (lymphocytic infiltration and demyelination). In particular, by western blot, histological evaluations and immunolocalization of the main markers of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis (TNF-α, iNOS, Nitrotyrosine, PARP, Foxp3, Bcl-2, Caspase 3 and DNA fragmentation), we documented that WGJe counteracts the alteration of all these inflammatory and oxidative pathway, without any apparent sign of toxicity. On these bases, we propose this natural product as putative novel helpful tools for the prevention of autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases such as MS. WGJe could have considerable implication for future therapies of MS, and this study may represents the starting point for further investigation on the role of WGJe in neuroinflammation.


In this study it is shown that grape extract to meeces inhibited EAE
and so anything looked at in the spinal cord would be expected to be reduced and as expected nerve loss infiltrates cytokines were reduced. Is this the reason why MS is lower in wine growing regions of Europe or is it the sun or a combination of the two. 
We will have to wait until further studies arrive.

Now when you read these EAE cures of the week as you will from the many media sites covering MS research. The first question one should ask is how much drug relative  to the human dose and this helps you to believe

How much poyphenols are present in wine. In this study the mice are getting 40mg/kg so in a human that is about 3g worth so given the average content of 32mg/100ml in white wine that equates to drinking ten litres of wine a day....I may even struggle to do this :-).  
So I wonder  if the wine connection  may be more dubious. Rule number 19 of the ARRIVE guidelines of animal experiment reporting asks about the translatability of the study, so maybe if more people did this it would not work. So it would be hard to publish the study as we know there is publication bias for positive results then we would not get "EAE cure of the week" quite as often. 

However in there polyphenols there are flavinoids and these haveproperties that could be neuroprotective

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