From BBC film via YouTube

Coffee protects seniors
from Alzheimer’s, study says


Those cups of coffee that adults drink every day to keep alert appear to have an extra perk. A recent study monitoring the memory and thinking processes of people older than 65 found that all those with higher blood caffeine levels avoided the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in the two-to-four years of study follow-up. Moreover, coffee appeared to be the major or only source of caffeine for these individuals.

Researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Miami say the case control study provides the first direct evidence that caffeine/coffee intake is associated with a reduced risk of dementia or delayed onset. Their findings will appear in the online version of an article to be published June 5 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, published by IOS Press. The collaborative study involved 124 people, ages 65 to 88, in Tampa and Miami.

“These intriguing results suggest that older adults with mild memory impairment who drink moderate levels of coffee — about three cups a day — will not convert to Alzheimer’s disease — or at least will experience a substantial delay before converting to Alzheimer’s,” said study lead author Chuanhai Cao, a neuroscientist at the University of South Florida College of Pharmacy. “The results from this study, along with our earlier studies in Alzheimer’s mice, are very consistent in indicating that moderate daily caffeine/coffee intake throughout adulthood should appreciably protect against Alzheimer’s disease later in life.”

The study shows this protection probably occurs even in older people with early signs of the disease, called mild cognitive impairment. Patients already experience some short-term memory loss and initial Alzheimer’s pathology in their brains, the study report said. Each year, about 15 percent of such patients progress to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers focused on study participants with this impairment because many were destined to develop Alzheimer’s within a few years.

Such patients who had a caffeine blood level representing about two cups of coffee remained stable over the same period, the study reported.


Murder suspect ordered
to prison for investigation


A judge has ordered a home invasion suspect jailed for six months while the investigation continues. The man was identified by the last names of Rodríguez Fuentes. He is a suspect there.   A man with the name Ronald Monge Poras died.

Agents detained Rodríguez in Los Geranios de Pococí Thursday.

March 29 armed men broke their way into a home on a finca occupied by Monge. They took items of value and tied up a woman there. She was unable to free herself in time to get medical aid for Monge, who was shot in the stomach.


Anti-drug agents snag
three persons at airport


A Guatemalan man detained after agents found packets of heroin in his stomach went to prison for three months preventative detention Monday after a hearing in the Juzgado Penal de Alajuela. He was detained last week in Juan Santamaría airport. Attendants at the Hospital San Rafael de Alajuela recovered 1.2 kilos of the drug, agents said. The man was identified by the last names of Alfaro Ramírez, He is 21 and was returning to Guatemala from Panamá, said anti-drug agents.

Meanwhile Monday agents detained an Italian citizen with the last name of Pironti at the same airport on the allegation that he had cocaine hidden in a bottle of shampoo. Agents said they found 724 grams of the drug. He is 35.

Last weekend agents also detained a Costa Rican woman identified by the last names of Pérez Fernández. She was headed to Madrid, they said. The 24-year-old woman had 4.3 kilos of cocaine in a suitcase, agents said.

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