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An Apple A Day May Improve Memory

August 2, 2006

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Apple juice is not just for kids. Researchers say apples and apple juice may be among the best foods that baby boomers and senior citizens could add to their diet.

Animal research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell indicates that apple juice consumption may actually increase the production in the brain of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine, resulting in improved memory. Neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine are chemicals released from nerve cells that transmit messages to other nerve cells. Such communication between nerve cells is vital for good health, not just in the brain, but throughout the body.

"We anticipate that the day may come when foods like apples, apple juice and other apple products are recommended along with the most popular Alzheimer's medications," says Thomas Shea, director of the UML Center for Cellular Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration Research.

The study will be published in the August issue of the international Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

The role of acetylcholine in the brain is not a new area of research. Alzheimer's medication studies start with the premise that increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the brain can help to slow mental decline in people with Alzheimer's disease. Testing a similar hypothesis, the UML research team found that having animals consume antioxidant-rich apple juice had a comparable and beneficial effect.

Earlier studies by Shea's research team had strongly suggested apples must possess a unique mix of antioxidants that improve cognition and memory via inhibition of oxidation in the brain.

Those results encouraged Shea to evaluate the neurotransmitter effect, as is done in the current study. Medications given to humans with Alzheimer's disease have been shown to inhibit the production of specific enyzmes (cholinesterase inhibitors) that break down acetylcholine in the brain. The end result in the animal study is similar – there are more of these critical messengers remaining in the brain to enhance memory.

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