Research on heart benefits of red wine falsified

A cardiovascular researcher has been accused of falsifying data suggesting that red wine is good for the heart.

Dr. Dipak K. Das, director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Connecticut, manipulated data at least 145 times, and the misconduct spanned 7 years and 26 journal articles, according to a review board. Das improperly combined results from different experiments in order to alter the data.

Das is well-known for his research on the cardiovascular benefits of resveratrol, a compound found in red wine. 

Health experts do not expect that Das' dismissal will have an adverse of effect on resveratrol studies. Heart disease, Das' specialty, is just one of the illnesses that researchers are trying to target with resveratrol. Researchers are currently focusing on the compound's ability to reduce instances of obesity, cancer, inflammation and aging.

Photo: Robert Fornal