Wine and cardiovascular disease

Although there is general consensus concerning the lower risk for ischemic disease in moderate drinkers, the basic mechanism responsible for the cardioprotective effect of wine remains unknown. A new wine trial was included in the FAIR project from the European Commission in order to determine the effects of red wine and hard liquor on: (i) serum lipoproteins, plasma antioxidants and the oxidizability of LDL particles, and (ii) serum and monocyte adhesion molecules related to the early stages of atherosclerosis, in an open, prospective, cross-over, randomised, and controlled cross-sectional study. Interestingly, the preliminary analysis confirms that red wine consumption decreases serum oxidation parameters and reduces the propensity of LDL to undergo lipid peroxidation, whereas both red wine and hard liquor increase HDL-cholesterol. On other hand, red wine consumption reduces the expression of monocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules, which after interaction with endothelial receptors allows the monocytes to pass through the endothelial wall, delaying the early processes of atherosclerosis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.