How real coffee protects brain
Thursday June 23rd, 2011
Scientists say they are close to explaining how coffee can prevent Alzheimer's disease.
And the findings suggest that only caffeinated coffee will have this effect.
Neither decaffeinated coffee or other drinks that contain caffeine will be effective, according to the report in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Researchers say coffee contains an "unidentified component" which reacts with caffeine to provide protection against the brain disease.
The laboratory study shows that coffee increases levels of a substance called GCSF - granulocyte colony stimulating factor - in the blood. The substance, a growth factor, is already being tested as a treatment for the disease.
It is thought it can stimulate the growth of new brain cells - and also help remove harmful beta-amyloid proteins from the brain.
The researchers say coffee may contain other substances that benefit people with the disease - and these may not depend on caffeine to be effective.
Researcher Dr Chuanhai Cao, of the University of South Florida, USA, said: “Caffeinated coffee provides a natural increase in blood GCSF levels.
The exact way that this occurs is not understood. There is a synergistic interaction between caffeine and some mystery component of coffee that provides this beneficial increase in blood GCSF levels.”
Fellow researcher Dr Gary Arendash said: "Now is the time to aggressively pursue the protective benefits of coffee against Alzheimer’s disease.
"Hopefully, the coffee industry will soon become an active partner with Alzheimer’s researchers to find the protective ingredient in coffee and concentrate it in dietary sources."
He added: "Combining regular physical and mental exercise with moderate coffee consumption would seem to be an excellent multi-faceted approach to reducing risk or delaying Alzheimer’s.
"With pharmaceutical companies spending millions of dollars trying to develop drugs against Alzheimer’s disease, there may very well be an effective preventive right under our noses every morning – caffeinated coffee."
Caffeine Synergizes with Another Coffee Component to Increase Plasma GCSF: Linkage to Cognitive Benefits in Alzheimer’s Mice; Chuanhai Cao, Li Wang, Xiaoyang Lin, Malgorzata Mamcarz, Chi Zhang, Ge Bai, Jasson Nong, Sam Sussman and Gary Arendash; Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 25(2), June 28, 2011.
Tags: Brain & Neurology | Diet & Food | Elderly Health | North America
Printer friendly page