Black tea, green tea slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease, research reveals

• Developing a taste for black or green tea may delay Alzheimer's disease, new research shows.
• A study from England's University of Newcastle upon Tyne shows that green and black teas may inhibit certain brain enzymes linked to Alzheimer's disease.
• The study's findings may lead to new therapeutic developments for dementia and Alzheimer's disease, which is estimated to affect 10 million people worldwide.
• Researchers including Edward Okello of the university's biology school pitted green tea, black tea, and coffee.
• Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease occur when brain nerve cells that process information and memory degenerate and die.
• Abnormalities such as plaque and tangles proteins form on nerve cells.
• The first brain chemical, acetylcholinesterase (AchE), breaks down one of the brain's chemical messengers that helps transport and process information -- called acetylcholine.
• A drop in acetylcholine, in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning, has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.
• Medications used to treat Alzheimer's disease work by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase.
• Aricept, Exelon, and Reminyl are examples of these medications.
• The teas also stopped the activity of other chemicals known to be key in making plaques and tangles in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
• The second chemical is called butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE).
• However, green tea also inhibited a third and final brain chemical called beta-secretase, which is also involved in brain protein deposits seen with Alzheimer's disease.
• The difference between the two drinks is that black tea has been fermented, resulting in a change in taste and appearance.
• In news reports, Okello says he knows of no evidence that Alzheimer's disease rates are lower in tea-drinking nations.
• Tea isn't being proposed as the much-hoped-for cure for Alzheimer's disease; however, it might inspire new treatments to delay the disease if these findings are confirmed by more research.