It turns out that drinking a lot of coffee may do more than wake us up during the day. It also could rev up our memories.
A University of South Florida study found that drinking five (yes, five) cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Caffeine also hurt the production of protein plaques that characterize the disease, the study also suggested. The study used 55 mice that were bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Half were given the equivalent of five 8 oz cups of coffee a day. The other half received just water. After two months, those that were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills. Those drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests. Findings appeared in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
In another Alzheimer’s-related development, scientists may have pinpointed the toxic agent in the disease. They have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be responsible for the disease. Findings were published last week in the journal Nature Chemistry.
