Pilot Study of Resveratrol in Older Adults With Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Resveratrol is a substance found in many plants, including grapes and red wine, which is
widely used as a nutritional supplement. Studies in cells and lower animals show that
resveratrol has many potential benefits, including prolonging lifespan, preventing cancer
and heart disease and normalization of glucose metabolism. Although use of this agent shows
great promise in the treatment and/or prevention of diabetes, there have been no studies
reported to date in humans. As an initial step, this proposal is for a 6 week pilot study of
resveratrol treatment in older adults with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in order to
explore its effects on post-meal blood glucose metabolism. Preliminary studies will also be
conducted to explore how resveratrol works by studying cellular function (in muscle samples
obtained from study participants) and by testing resveratrol's effect on blood vessel
function.