Fw: GREEN TEA GOOD FOR PD

[rayilynlee <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>]

Rayilyn Brown
Board Member AZNPF
Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
rbrown@xxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: "rayilynlee" <rayilynlee@xxxxxxx>
To: "RACHEL HASSAN SMITH" <rsmith@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 5:29 PM
Subject: GREEN TEA GOOD FOR PD


> Word count 634
>
> ISRAELI RESEARCHERS SHOW GREEN TEA HAS REJUVENATING EFFECT ON DAMAGED
> BRAIN CELLS
>
>
> In the past, it was thought that once brain cells were damaged, there was
> no way to repair them. The old British adage - 'have a cuppa tea' - has
> gained some powerful backing as a cure for life's ailments, thanks to the
> results of an Israeli study.
>
> Researchers at the Technion Institute of Science in Haifa have shown that
> feeding green tea extract to mice with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease
> protects brain cells from dying, and helps rescue already damaged neurons
> in the brain. The major question is whether these promising results are
> reproducible in humans.
>
> Numerous studies around the world have suggested that drinking tea may
> help
> support the brain as people get older. Tea consumption is inversely
> correlated with the incidence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease and
> Parkinson's disease, which may help to explain why there are significantly
> lower incidence rates of age-related neurological disorders among Asians
> than in Europeans or Americans.
>
> But, according to Dr. Silvia Mandel of the Technion's Eve Topf Center for
> Neurodegenerative Diseases, the study she led was one of the first to show
> how the main antioxidant polyphenol of green tea extract, EGCG, actually
> works when it gets access into the brain. Mandel presented her findings
> last
> month in Washington DC to a rapt audience of colleagues at the Fourth
> International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health.
>
> "It was received really well, and I was told there was extreme interest in
> it," Mandel told ISRAEL21c. "Our study was the only one that went inside
> the
> mechanism of action of EGCG at the molecular level."
>
> "More recently, a PhD student of mine - Lydia Reznichenko - conducted a
> "neurorescue" study that closely resembles what happens in humans - first
> the disease is diagnosed and then the doctors prescribe medication," said
> Mandel. "We induced Parkinson's in mice and waited until the damage was
> evident. Then we began to administer the EGCG to the animals. The results
> showed that the EGCG not only prevented further deterioration, but it
> helped
> to regenerate the already damaged neurons in the brain. This phenomenon is
> called neurorescue or neurorestoration, and we're the first to show that
> green tea is effective in doing this.
>
> "When I starting working there 10 years ago, I was told by my boss Prof.
> Moussa Youdim, that the most acknowledged hypothesis regarding
> neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, is an
> excessive accumulation of highly reactive molecules known as oxygen free
> radicals, and iron. At that time I stumbled upon a research paper dealing
> with a green tea
> extract which showed that it prevents damage to red blood cells. By a
> closer
> examination of the components in green tea, I discovered that the most
> active ingredient of the extract, EGCG, is a potent antioxidant and iron
> complexing agent. I looked up some more articles, and decided that maybe I
> could study this compound - in any event, it is natural so it can't do any
> harm, and it would be nice to tell people that they can drink something
> pleasant like tea and get beneficial effects from it," she added.
>
> The years of research into tea are beginning to pay off for Mandel. Based
> on
> her initial findings in 2001 about the connection of green tea to cell
> protection, tests are underway now in China, under the auspices of the
> Michael J. Fox Foundation, on early Parkinson's patients to check whether
> green tea extract is slowing down the progression of the disease.
>
> And don't think that Mandel doesn't take her own advice. "I try to drink
> at least two cups of green tea a day. And I like regular dark tea too, so
> I drink another two cups of that."
>
> Source: David Brinn, Health October 14, 2007
>
> Rayilyn Brown
> Board Member AZNPF
> Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
> rbrown@xxxxxxxxx

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