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posted by Fnord666 on Monday November 19 2018, @02:40AM   Printer-friendly
from the coffee++ dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Drinking coffee may reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

A new study out of the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the Krembil Research Institute, suggests there could be more to that morning jolt of goodness than a boost in energy and attention. Drinking coffee may also protect you against developing both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

"Coffee consumption does seem to have some correlation to a decreased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease," says Dr. Donald Weaver, Co-director of the Krembil Brain Institute. "But we wanted to investigate why that is -- which compounds are involved and how they may impact age-related cognitive decline."

[...] "The caffeinated and de-caffeinated dark roast both had identical potencies in our initial experimental tests," says Dr. Mancini. "So we observed early on that its protective effect could not be due to caffeine."

Dr. Mancini then identified a group of compounds known as phenylindanes, which emerge as a result of the roasting process for coffee beans. Phenylindanes are unique in that they are the only compound investigated in the study that prevent -- or rather, inhibit -- both beta amyloid and tau, two protein fragments common in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, from clumping. "So phenylindanes are a dual-inhibitor. Very interesting, we were not expecting that." says Dr. Weaver.

As roasting leads to higher quantities of phenylindanes, dark roasted coffee appears to be more protective than light roasted coffee.

"It's the first time anybody's investigated how phenylindanes interact with the proteins that are responsible for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," says Dr. Mancini. "The next step would be to investigate how beneficial these compounds are, and whether they have the ability to enter the bloodstream, or cross the blood-brain barrier."


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:35AM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:35AM (#763772)

    If coffee is linked to selfish genes, and selfishness is linked to alzhiemers, perhaps the mechanism of action is selfishness.

    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/coffee-and-the-selfish-gene/article4627728.ece#! [thehindu.com] http://www.eldercareresourcesoklahoma.com/2014/05/cynicism-linked-to-dementia-in-new-study/ [eldercareresourcesoklahoma.com]

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:51AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:51AM (#763778)

    Trump doesn't drink coffee.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:58AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @03:58AM (#763779)

      Does coffe protect against TDS?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @04:08AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @04:08AM (#763783)

      Humans naturally act in their own self interest, its no less natural than other things puritans try to ban like sex and fun. I dont get the mental effect behind it, its like somehow depriving yourself feels like a productive activity. I guess its a demonstration of self control.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @04:18AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 19 2018, @04:18AM (#763787)

        They're afraid that if they have too much fun on earth, they won't get to heaven. So they try to make their miserable metaphysical problem everybody else's. Without evidence that heaven exists and that this is necessary to gain entrance, it's completely irrational.

      • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday November 19 2018, @05:32PM (1 child)

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Monday November 19 2018, @05:32PM (#763936) Journal

        Being selfish is not the same as acting in your own interest. Indeed, most selfish people act against their own interests; they just don't understand it.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
        • (Score: 1) by ChrisMaple on Monday November 19 2018, @11:51PM

          by ChrisMaple (6964) on Monday November 19 2018, @11:51PM (#764071)

          Don't confuse selfishness with shortsightedness.

  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday November 19 2018, @04:21AM

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Monday November 19 2018, @04:21AM (#763789) Homepage Journal

    It didn't mention how much caffeine is found in coffee blossom honey. Were that enough to be of interest to humans, it could provide a second source of income for coffee farmers.

    The article did say that coffee nectar has very little caffeine in it, however honey has quite a lot more sugar in it than does flower nectar, and is quite viscous, so I expect that honey's caffeine content to be similarly concentrated.

    My mom kept putting a jar of Dad's honey in the fridge - my father was a beekeeper - leading it to crystallize. I'd re-dissolve the sugar by putting the bottle in a pot of water on the stove, then set it back out on the kitchen counter. Again Mom would refrigerate it, I'd de-crystallize it. She and I went on this way in silent debate until I wrote the following on a Sticky then put it on top of that de-crystallized jar on the counter:

    "Mom - You don't need to refrigerate honey. You can embalm a stiff in it."

    And friends, that is the gospel truth.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]