The new "buzz" on stroke damage control… I've told you before about the benefits of consuming moderate amounts of alcohol and caffeinated beverages (like coffee), but this latest slice of mainstream vindication is almost too good to be true: It seems that researchers have recently discovered that a new medication made from a "cocktail" of caffeine and alcohol can actually reduce the severity of stroke-related brain damage by up to 80 percent.
According to recent article in New Scientist, a specific combination of these two "vices" has been demonstrated to function in a powerful neuro-protective capacity when given to laboratory animals following artificially induced strokes… But success on rats and success in people are two different things - mainly because humans are sometimes unable to safely tolerate the same levels of experimental medicines that animal studies have shown effective. However, neurologists from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School have initiated a small pilot study using smaller doses of the new "caffeinol" drug in human patients who've suffered ischaemic strokes - and the findings are very encouraging. Does this mean stroke victims can simply slurp an Irish coffee every day - and enjoy a nice caffeine and alcohol buzz while they stave off further brain damage? I don't think so. But it does mean that at least some mainstream scientists are looking at ordinary substances many of us consume every day in a new light… Next thing you know, they will be saying tobacco is good for you. Well, they - and I - have already done that. In an earlier Daily Dose ("Not just blowing smoke," 11/1/02), I wrote about "Angiogenix," a nicotine-based treatment that appears to grow new blood vessels in the heart…
Looking out for what's really harmful,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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