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Caffeine research looks promising

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By LINDSAY PETERSON

lpeterson@tampatrib.com

Published: July 12, 2009

TAMPA - The buzz you feel after that cup of coffee could do more than help you stay awake. Researchers with the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute say it could also protect you from Alzheimer's disease.

The study published this month in the online Journal of Alzheimer's Disease involved mice that had been genetically altered to develop memory problems similar to Alzheimer's.

Building on research they started several years ago, the Byrd researchers gave the mice water spiked with caffeine, the equivalent of 40 ounces of coffee a day. At the same time, they gave caffeinated water to normal mice and plain water to another group of mice with dementia.

The demented mice initially failed tests in a water maze, but after two months of drinking caffeine, they found their way to a shallow platform, performing as well as older mice without dementia. The Alzheimer's mice drinking plain water still couldn't find the platform.

Also, the brains of the caffeine-drinking mice had substantially lower levels of a hard, sticky substance called amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

Based on their mice studies, Byrd researcher Gary Arendash and his colleagues soon hope to begin controlled research using caffeine with humans suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.

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