Green tea and red wine may interrupt Alzheimer’s
New research from the University of Leeds in England suggests that natural chemicals found in green tea and red wine may help to block an important step in the Alzheimer’s disease pathway. Alzheimer’s is known to build up certain proteins in the brain. These proteins attach to the brain’s nerve cells, causing the cells to malfunction and ultimately die.
The study, however, identified that purified extracts of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) from green tea and resveratrol from red wine interrupted that process. These natural chemicals prevented the proteins from latching onto the nerve cells and damaging them.
“This is an important step in increasing our understanding of the cause and progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” says lead researcher Professor Nigel Hooper of the University’s Faculty of Biological Sciences. “It’s a misconception that Alzheimer’s is a natural part of ageing; it’s a disease that we believe can ultimately be cured through finding new opportunities for drug targets like this.”
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which affected an estimated 5.4 million Americans in 2012, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The latest findings were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (pdf).
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