야채가 좋다는 얘긴 우리 모두 다 알고 있는 사실인 데 지금보니
야채가 중요한 게 아니라 녹색green이 중요한 듯. 녹차를 먹인
쥐가 알츠하이머로부터 자유롭다니. 한 번으로가 아니라 이젠 우리
모두가 녹차를 그냥 숭늉 마시 듯 그렇게 마신다면 우리 역시도
노망이라는 불청객으로부터 자유로워진다는. 알츠 하이머 환자의
뇌에 쌓이며 기억력의 상실을 가져오며 뇌 손상을 일으키는 베타
아미노이두 프로테인을 감소사켰다고 사우스 프로리다 대학
연구팀이 밝혔다. 초기 단계에서 두뇌 세포에 베타 아미노이드의
형성을 막는다고 한다. 자 갑시다 오늘은 내가 녹차 한잔 대접하죠

Green Tea Compound Stops Alzheimer's in Mice

Wed Sep 21, 7:02 PM ET

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- An ingredient in green tea has prevented Alzheimer's disease-like brain damage in mice, researchers report.

The compound, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), decreased production of the protein beta-amyloid, which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and causes nerve damage and

memory loss.

"The findings suggest that a concentrated component of green tea can decrease brain beta-amyloid

plaque formation," senior researcher Dr. Jun Tan, director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory

at the the University of South Florida's Silver Child Development Center, said in a prepared statement.

Reporting in the Sept. 21 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the research team worked with mice genetically programmed to develop a disease mimicking human Alzheimer's.

The mice received daily injections of EGCG for several months and showed as much as a 54 percent reduction in the formation of brain-clogging beta-amyloid plaques. It appears that EGCG prevents

the initial process that leads to beta-amyloid formation in brain cells, the researchers said.

"If beta-amyloid pathology in this Alzheimer's mouse model is representative of Alzheimer's disease pathology in humans, EGCG dietary supplementation may be effective in preventing and treating the disease," Tan said.

The researchers will next study whether multiple oral doses of EGCG improve memory loss in mice

with Alzheimer's.

"If those studies show clear cognitive benefits, we believe clinical trials of EGCG to treat Alzheimer's disease would be warranted," Tan said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more about Alzheimer's disease.