SPAIN
A clinical trial in Spain that has been running for a year has shown that green tea can improve memory in people with Down Syndrome. Brain scans revealed that EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), one of the powerful catechins found in tea, alters that way in which neurons in the brain connect, and that the beneficial effects can last for six months after the trials.
Senior author of the study Mara Dierssen, a researcher at the Center for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain, said that this was the first time that treatment had been shown to have a beneficial effect on the cognitive ability of people with Down Syndrome.
However, although this is a significant breakthrough and indicates that EGCG in tea may improve the lives of individuals, green tea is not a cure, and the findings of the trial must be validated by further research. People with Down Syndrome have two fewer pairs of chromosomes than are found in most humans and this reduces the individual’s cognitive powers.
In the trials run by Dierssen, 84 young adults with Down Syndrome were divided into two groups. One was given a decaffeinated green tea supplement containing 45% EGCG while the second group was given a placebo. Cognitive tests were carried out after three, six and 12 months and those taking EGCG showed an improvement in remembering patterns, words and new behavior patterns and this improvement increased over time.