Posted on 03/07/2017 2:15:49 PM PST by JimSEA
A study by Indiana University researchers has identified 24 compounds -- including caffeine -- with the potential to boost an enzyme in the brain shown to protect against dementia.
The protective effect of the enzyme, called NMNAT2, was discovered last year through research conducted at IU Bloomington. The new study appears today in the journal Scientific Reports.
"This work could help advance efforts to develop drugs that increase levels of this enzyme in the brain, creating a chemical 'blockade' against the debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disorders," said Hui-Chen Lu, who led the study. Lu is a Gill Professor in the Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a part of the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences.
Previously, Lu and colleagues found that NMNAT2 plays two roles in the brain: a protective function to guard neurons from stress and a "chaperone function" to combat misfolded proteins called tau, which accumulate in the brain as "plaques" due to aging. The study was the first to reveal the "chaperone function" in the enzyme.
Misfolded proteins have been linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of these disorders, affects over 5.4 million Americans, with numbers expected to rise as the population ages.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
No problem in my family. Of course we also eat a lot of dairy. Maybe that counteracts it?
But only have one slice or else the cake makes your clothes shrink. :)
Mmmm cake. We’re no carbs no sugar in this house. Luckily I found an alternative flour but have to do all my own baking. Lol
Hmmm. My mom drank no coffee and has Alzheimer’s. She would sometimes drink black tea or coke. But no coffee. My dad drank one or two cups of weak coffee a day. He had Alzheimer’s too.
Pure espresso is probably the best. That is what I drink. 3-4 shots / day.
Exactly. I say I have not forgotten it only takes longer to process. I have also said my brain is full. I can’t remember what else I have said.
Sorta like I tell folks...
I need to defrag my hard-drive.
Depends on how much you drink. Folks I know have no problems. They consume two or three cups a day
I need to defrag my hard-drive.”
Love it. Will need to try and remember that. Except that it’s not only my hard drive that would benefit from defragging. LOL.
Guess I need to.. wait! What was this article about? Beer helps your memory?
Coffee may well cause inflation. Many years ago, I thought coffee was responsible for my acid reflux but since quit smoking 23 years ago, I haven’t had the problem and I average 3 cups a morning.
Maybe it would have been worse if you didn't drink coffee. Or, as with all such studies, different bodies react differently.
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