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The Conference "Alcohol and Wine in Health and Disease"(with speakers
and delegates from all over the world) was held in Palo Alto California,
USA, in April 2001 and the New York Academy of Science published
a summary of the conference in Volume 957 of its Annals last year.
Edited by Dr Dipak Das from the University of Connecticut in the
USA and Dr Fulvio Ursini from the University of Padova in Italy
the book contains in their entirety all the papers and posters
presented in the conference. Therefore the book presents a complete
up to date coverage of many aspects of alcohol and wines biochemical
and physiological aspects on the human body, with a lot of focus
on the oxidative damage and wines antioxidant benefits.
Some interesting public health issues (i.e. how much should we
drink? how often should we drink and when should we start drinking?)
were raised by papers that presented experimental research data
and epidemiological findings which looked at the effects of alcohol
and at non alcohol ingredients or compounds in wine. New concepts
were also introduced and discussed, with the health benefits of
alcohol for coronary heat disease being expanded to incorporate
the whole vascular focus, ischaemic stroke, ischaemic peripheral
vascular disease and ischaemic renal disease.
The role of alcohol and non-alcohol related components in wine
were discussed with research on the new area of focus, namely
endothelial benefits, with antioxidants helping vascular endothelial
integrity and function. A healthy endothelium results in much
less formation of atheromatous plaques and subsequent vascular
disease and clotting that can lead to ischaemic obstruction of
the vessel.
A major concern for clinicians is the rise in obesity and diabetes
and research into the reduction of insulin resistance by wine’s
antioxidant components was presented. Syndrome ‘X’ where patients
have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and
obesity, which leads to higher rates of vascular disease and cancer,
needs to be screened for routinely. Preventative health measures,
such as drinking wine in moderation, which can help reduce some
of the risks, should be welcomed, when for example the authorities
in Australia estimated that there were 500,000 undiagnosed diabetics
in a population of 20 million.
A vast range and area of topic were presented and discussed (for
example the benefits of wine on cancer, dementia, kidney disease
and wound healing), however the public health issues discussed
at the open discussion at the end of the conference were not included
in the book.
The summary of the conference is presented by Mr Stampfer (the
Professor of Public Health at Harvard Medical School) who chaired
the discussion along with a panel of eminent speakers, which included
Curtis Ellision (Professor of Epidemiology at Boston University).The
general consensus of opinion was that we would be doing the health
service and our patients a disservice if they were not informed
of the extensive data and evidence that now exists of the health
benefits of consuming wine in moderation. Alcohol should also
be consumed in moderation (10-40g/day) on a regular daily basis
as the antioxidants responsible for a lot of the health benefits
cannot be stored and need to be replenished every day. It was
agreed by most at the conference that there is no down side from
consuming wine in moderation, unless there was a contraindication
such as family history of alcoholism, religious beliefs or other
health problems that could be made worse by consuming alcohol. |
