Resveratrol Effects on Astrocyte Function: Relevance to Neurodegenerative Diseases

Inflammatory molecules have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. Resveratrol is an antifungal compound found in the skins of red grapes and other fruits and nuts. We examined the ability of resveratrol to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of inflammatory molecules from primary mouse astrocytes. Resveratrol inhibited LPS-induced production of nitric oxide (NO); the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), and IL-6; and the chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), which play critical roles in innate immunity, by astrocytes. Resveratrol also suppressed astrocyte production of IL-12p40 and IL-23, which are known to alter the phenotype of T cells involved in adaptive immunity. Finally resveratrol inhibited astrocyte production of C-reactive protein (CRP), which plays a role in a variety of chronic inflammatory disorders. Collectively, these studies suggest that resveratrol may be an effective therapeutic agent in neurodegenerative diseases initiated or maintained by inflammatory processes

The Marriage Checkup: A randomized controlled trial of annual relationship health checkups.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the efficacy of the Marriage Checkup for improving relationship health and intimacy. METHOD: Cohabiting married couples (N=215, M(age) women=44.5 years, men=47 years, 93.1% Caucasian) recruited from a northeastern U.S. metropolitan area through print and electronic media were randomly assigned to MC treatment or wait-list control. Treatment but not control couples participated in assessment and feedback visits, at the beginning of the study and again one year later. All couples completed nine sets of questionnaires over two years. Outcome measures included the Quality of Marriage Index, the Global Distress subscale of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised, the Intimate Safety Questionnaire, and the Relational Acceptance Questionnaire. RESULTS: A latent growth curve model indicated significant between group differences in intimacy at every measurement point after baseline (d ranged from .20 to .55, M(d) = .37), significant between group differences in women’s felt acceptance for every measurement point after baseline (d ranged from .17 to .47, M(d) = .34), significant between group differences in men’s felt acceptance through the 1-year-2 week follow-up (d across follow-up ranged from .11 to .40, M(d) = .25), and significant between group differences in relationship distress through 1-year 6-month follow-up (d across follow-up ranged from .11 to .39, M(d) = .23). CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal analysis of the MC supports the hypothesis that the MC significantly improves intimacy, acceptance, and satisfaction. Implications for dissemination are discussed