Decaffeinated coffee preserves memory function by improving brain energy metabolism

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/tmsh-dcp013112.php

[font face=Times, Times New Roman, Serif]Public release date: 1-Feb-2012

Contact: Mount Sinai Press Office
[e-mail]
212-241-9200
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

[font size=5]Decaffeinated coffee preserves memory function by improving brain energy metabolism[/font]

[font size=3]Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that decaffeinated coffee may improve brain energy metabolism associated with type 2 diabetes. This brain dysfunction is a known risk factor for dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease. The research is published online in Nutritional Neuroscience.

A research group led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, and Psychiatry, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, explored whether dietary supplementation with a standardized decaffeinated coffee preparation prior to diabetes onset might improve insulin resistance and glucose utilization in mice with diet-induced type 2 diabetes. The researchers administered the supplement for five months, and evaluated the brain's genetic response in the mice. They found that the brain was able to more effectively metabolize glucose and use it for cellular energy in the brain. Glucose utilization in the brain is reduced in people with type 2 diabetes, which can often result in neurocognitive problems.

"Impaired energy metabolism in the brain is known to be tightly correlated with cognitive decline during aging and in subjects at high risk for developing neurodegenerative disorders," said Dr. Pasinetti. "This is the first evidence showing the potential benefits of decaffeinated coffee preparations for both preventing and treating cognitive decline caused by type 2 diabetes, aging, and/or neurodegenerative disorders."

...

"In light of recent evidence suggesting that cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders may be traced back to neuropathological conditions initiated several decades before disease onset, developing preventive treatments for such disorders is critical," he said.

...[/font][/font]

[SheilaT]

1. Hmmm. Maybe I need to

go back to that second cup of coffee in the morning. Currently, my one cup is caffeine. In the past I'd usually have a second one, decaf.

[flamingdem]

2. But But .. what about real coffee

I don't like decaf but am looking for excuses for drinking more coffee!

[BlueIris]

3. Good. One more reason to keep my decaf.

I'm (almost) off caffeine, but I plan to keep my decaf. Yummy decaf.

[MADem]

4. Caffeinated coffee is said to have similar effects. It's not an either-or, I don't think.

http://www.alzheimerspreventiondigest.com/2011/01/can-coffee-prevent-alzheimers/

Your morning cup of coffee may protect you from a variety of diseases, from Alzheimer’s to diabetes to Parkinson’s. Several studies have suggested that regular consumption of caffeine reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
But there is a catch, it seems. A cup or two are not enough to produce the optimum benefits, according to Dr. Gary Arendash, a leading Alzheimer’s researcher who has been studying the effects of caffeine on the brain. He says 500 milligrams of caffeine – equal to five cups of coffee – seems to be the amount necessary to produce a protective effect. According to Arendash, “I drink five to six cups a day religiously.”


Read more: Can Coffee Prevent Alzheimer’s? | Alzheimer's Prevention Digest http://www.alzheimerspreventiondigest.com/2011/01/can-coffee-prevent-alzheimers/#ixzz1l7keamNW
Alzheimers Prevention

[Owlet]

5. Perhaps it's not caffeine or the lack thereof

but something in coffee itself? It just strikes me as odd that these researchers could come up with virtually identical results.

[MADem]

6. It could be. I think it is unusual, too.

I've been aware of the "coffee connection" for a couple of years--I have a relative with T2 diabetes and those sorts of articles pique my interest as a result. I also come from a family that (knock wood) doesn't have any Altzheimer's in the line, at least that we know of, and we're all coffee fans going back generations....don't know if that's part of our good health, or what!

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. I haven’t found the paper yet

However, it seems to me that this may be the whole point. (i.e. that decaffeinated coffee has the same beneficial effect as non-decaffeinated coffee.)

[MADem]

8. So, it's some other property besides the caffeine in the bean! nt

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. Yes

Or, to be more precise, the decaffeination process does not remove whatever the beneficial property is.

[Tumbulu]

10. How about us tea drinkers....are we just doomed?.....

[OKIsItJustMe]

11. Yes, I’m afraid you are

(Sorry ’bout that.)