Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Moderate ethanol intake from any type of beverage has been shown to improve lipoprotein metabolism and lower cardiovascular mortality risk, but red wine, with its abundant antioxidant contents, seems to confer additional healthy benefits. Previous studies indicated that the beneficial effects of red wine are derived from increased endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO), implying that enhanced NO bioavailability may mediate the cardiovascular protection provided by red wine.

Increasing evidence suggests that the injured endothelial monolayer is regenerated partly by circulating bone marrow derived-endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which accelerate reendothelialization and protect against the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Clinical studies demonstrated that the number of circulating EPCs predicts the occurrence of cardiovascular events and death from cardiovascular causes and may help to identify patients at increased cardiovascular risk. Although many epidemiologic studies have indicated that light-to-moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the incidence of CAD, the multifarious effects of red wine on circulating EPCs and endothelial function remain to be determined. Therefore, we design this study to test the hypothesis that intake of red wine can enhance the number and functional capacity of EPCs through increasing NO bioavailability.