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Inspired by human studies showing that avid coffee drinkers and smokers have a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, scientists at the University of Washington decided to see what java and cigarettes do to fruit flies. The tremors and other movement impairments of Parkinson’s are triggered by the death of dopamine-producing cells in the brain, so the investigators used flies that had been genetically engineered to have their dopamine cells die off as they age. When Leo Pallanck and his colleagues fed coffee and tobacco extracts to these flies, they found that the animals’ dopamine cells survived and their life span increased. The scientists ruled out caffeine and nicotine as the protective substances, but there are other promising compounds in coffee and tobacco, which the researchers intend to test in these short-lived creatures. “Flies are a great system for quickly trying to zero in on the chemicals that are responsible,” Pallanck says.
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27 Comments
Add CommentHow did they rule out caffeine and tobacco? or are they like others "this is bad in one way so it's always bad so lets rule it out". Is there more to this article?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAny chance they could do the tests with coffee only . . I don't smoke & don't intend to do so.Ok . . flies don't smoke either & what about distruction of lungs . . & tons of other related problems?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDave Foley,Greystones.Ireland.
Any chance they could do the test with coffee extract only,as I don't smoke & don't intend to . . ok flies don't smoke either but what about all the other related lung damage and heart disease . . is this a prescription for those who are addicted to cigarettes to keep on smoking I wonder . . why?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDave Foley.Greystones.Ireland.
so the solution is to drink cups of coffee and smoke like a parisian?!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat exactly seems to be the inhibitor in tobacco smoke and/or coffee?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow we know the reason for Sci Am's post- Piel senior drift into dementia . All that needs to be done to reverse this sad trend is to discharge the mayor who put the damper on manhattans intellectual life , retrieve the ash trays and order some well salted donuts fried in lard to restore the editors thirst for expresso.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe have a plague of flies in the office, hovering only in the kitchen. We couldn't understand why the coffee needed to be replenished so quickly. Now I know.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe article said "extracts," not including coffee and nicotine. so that means calm the fudge, because it's not a tobacco propaganda add. but they way they can rule out substances liek caffine, or nicotine, is to use genetically modified plants that have had those genes removed, that are responsible for their manufacture. or, there are a number of chemical processes approved by the fda, that can filter/seperate specific compounds out of the material.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne needs not jump into conclusion too fast, flies are flies, humans are humans.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCoffee and cigarettes might protect the brain (albeit such assertion could be far from conclusive), the harm they caused to health definitely outweighs the benefit.
(btt1943)
simply they could just use pure caffeine or tobacco to do the test. if they don't work. they are very likely to be useless
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe researchers used decaffeinated coffee extracts and nicotine free-tobacco
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wish I knew how they could make the flies smoke and drink coffee...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf one wishes to know the similarities then the nicotine in the cigarette and the choline in coffee are the most likely ingredients which affect the addiction pathway.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSmoke is direct cause of Alzheimer decease. Do not ever allow this Michele Solis to write again for the un-Scientific American!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlan Tatourian
By all means direct all of the tort lawyers ill-got Tobacco Wars gains into research on oncogenrnetics and extending the lives and lung capacities of the few , the proud, who have withstood the incursions of social engineering to exercise their intelligence to the full
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi am glad to be a member of scientificamerican
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"....the harm they caused to health definitely outweighs the benefit", Tan Boon Tee? DEFINITELY? Says who, exactly?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonally, if given the choice, I'd prefer to live five or seven years less and die with my brain decently functional, than drag out my existence for as long as possible while suffering Parkinson's (or the related diseases, Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer's). The price to yourself, the state and/or your loved ones of extending life at any cost can be very high indeed, as I discovered with both my parents.
Contrary to current received wisdom in the Western world, we all have to die - yes, even the non-smokers. I'm not saying the choice IS the one I mention in the paragraph above; but it's high time we began discussing all this with a slightly more philosphical, less hysterical "longer-life-is-always-good" sort of way.
Quality versus quantity, anyone?
So all one needs to do is smoke coffee grounds to live a healthy life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat's the paper's original title: "Decaffeinated Coffee and Nicotine-Free Tobacco Provide Neuroprotection in Drosophila Models of Parkinson's Disease through an NRF2-Dependent Mechanism". Then... It's not coffee and cigarettes... It's not related to humans... It's not for a healthier brain in general... And so on... I guess Sci Am decided for a (brilliant) "copy" title...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow did they make the tiny-teeny cigarette lighters for the flies?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd how much coffee did they spill?
i always love fruitflys.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswe love fruit.
they are a cute pretty size, between the common housefly and gnats; and they never interfere with my enjoyment.
anyway, this has been know for quite a while.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisonward-
known and not sufficiently published.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article does not contain enough evidence to support smoking or drinking coffee. There are numerous ways that smoking can lead to an earlier death such as lung or mouth cancer. Smoking also will force your heart to work even harder than it did before with Parkinson's disease. It will complicate things for you to be disabled by Parkinson's and not have the full usage of your lungs. Drinking coffee can lead to a weakened bladder, less sleep, more stress, and increase in weight amongst other symptoms. The equation created by inducing smoking and drinking coffee on top of having Parkinson's disease may increase life by a few years, but in turn will also decrease life expectancy by nearly double the amount due to the negative aspects of both. Even in the rare chance that your life expectancy does increase the extreme decline in your health will lead to depression that will lead to wishing that you had reconsidered the choice. Drinking coffee and smoking's side effects are not an even exchange for "suspected increase" in life expectancy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith the knowledge that Parkinson’s disease is a motor system disorder and that dopamine is a chemical that helps send function messages from the brain to different parts of the body, it is understandable that coffee and cigarettes could add additional help to the body. Coffee and cigarettes are known for having effects on the mind; coffee keeps the mind awake while cigarettes are said to ease nerves. In addition, both coffee and cigarettes are known for being addictive, and anytime the mind is addicted to something it is paying extra attention and focusing on that particular thing. It would make sense that these two substances that work on keeping the mind steady, alert, and focused would help counteract the effects of dopamine cells dying off. The argument made in this article is logical and understandable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLOL!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have always been sure that coffee and cigarettes takes a good part of my life. To my mind it is just becoming more interesting and colorful. More than that I just get rid of cigarettes taxes with http://www.1cheapcigarettesonline.com/
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo, I am happy enough to share it with you .
Regards.