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 cardi oprotective effect of wine remains unknown. A new wine trial was included i n the FAIR project from the European Commission in order to determine the e ffects of red wine and hard liquor on: (i) serum lipoproteins, plasma antio xidants and the oxidizability of LDL particles, and (ii) serum and monocyte adhesion molecules related to the early stages of atherosclerosis, in an o pen, prospective, cross-over, randomised, and controlled cross-sectional st udy. Interestingly, the preliminary analysis confirms that red wine consump tion decreases serum oxidation parameters and reduces the propensity of LDL to undergo lipid peroxidation, whereas both red wine and hard liquor incre ase HDL-cholesterol. On other hand, red wine consumption reduces the expres sion of monocyte and endothelial adhesion molecules, which after interactio n with endothelial receptors allows the monocytes to pass through the endot helial wall, delaying the early processes of atherosclerosis. (C) 2000 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.