In a study from Newcastle University, tea drinkers who enjoyed more than five cups a day were shown to have more focus and sustained attention span. They also demonstrated better psychomotor skills – those linking brain and movement. In tests, they showed better accuracy and speed of reaction which could help in daily activities such as completing a jigsaw, sewing or driving a car.

The researchers studied the tea-drinking habits of those over 85 living in their own homes or in assisted accommodation and found that those who drank more than five cups of tea a day – with or without milk – performed better at certain cognitive tests.

Dr Edward Okello, Principal Investigator, Human Nutrition Research Centre at Newcastle University led the research. He said: “The skills we see maintained in this group of very old may not only be due to the compounds present in tea, but it may also be the rituals of making a pot of tea or sharing a chat over a cup of tea are just as important.”

The research used data from the flagship Newcastle 85+ Study involving more than one thousand 85-year-olds from Newcastle and North Tyneside. Started in 2006, studies are still continuing to this day with around 200 participants as they become centenarians.

Research nurses gather information by visiting participants in their own homes to complete a health assessment made up of questionnaires, measurements, function tests and a fasting blood test. Examining the consumption of black tea, Camellia sinensis, the researchers were looking for evidence that it protected against memory loss (cognitive decline).

They found that higher tea consumption was associated with significantly better attention (focused and sustained attention), and psychomotor speed (complex tasks only) over the five years but there was no association between tea consumption and overall measures of memory (global cognitive function) or performance on simple speed tasks.

The researchers suggest the findings mean that black tea should be considered for the very old in any diet which aims to improve attention and psychomotor speed. “We now know that enjoying a cup of tea quenches your thirst and has benefits for over 85s attention span,” adds Dr Okello, “What better excuse do we need for enjoying a cup together?”

Tea facts

• Tea, the hot water infusion from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis, is the most consumed beverage in the world after water.
• Black tea is the most commonly consumed tea and accounts for 76–78% of world tea consumption.

Reference

Tea consumption and measures of attention and psychomotor speed in the very old: the Newcastle 85+ longitudinal study. Edward Jonathan Okello, Nuno Mendonça, Blossom Stephan, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Keith Wesnes and Mario Siervo. BMC Nutr. doi: 10.1186/s40795-020-00361-8.

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Hearing loss has been shown to be linked to dementia in epidemiological studies and may be responsible for a tenth of the 47 million cases worldwide. Now, published in the journal Neuron, a team at Newcastle University provide a new theory to explain how a disorder of the ear can lead to Alzheimer’s disease – a concept never looked at before. It is hoped that this new understanding may be a significant step towards advancing research into Alzheimer’s disease and how to prevent the illness for future generations.

Key considerations

Newcastle experts considered three key aspects; a common underlying cause for hearing loss and dementia; lack of sound-related input leading to brain shrinking; and cognitive impairment resulting in people having to engage more brain resources to compensate for hearing loss, which then become unavailable for other tasks. The team propose a new angle which focuses on the memory centres deep in the temporal lobe.

Their recent work indicates that this part of the brain, typically associated with long-term memory for places and events, is also involved in short-term storage and manipulation of auditory information. They consider explanations for how changes in brain activity due to hearing loss might directly promote the presence of abnormal proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease, therefore triggering the disease.

Professor Tim Griffiths, from Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, said: “The challenge has been to explain how a disorder of the ear can lead to a degenerative problem in the brain. “We suggest a new theory based on how we use what is generally considered to be the memory system in the brain when we have difficulty listening in real-world environments.”

Collaborative research

Work on mechanisms for difficult listening is a central theme for the research group, including members in Newcastle, UCL and Iowa University, that has been supported by a Medical Research Council programme grant. Dr Will Sedley, from Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, says: “This memory system engaged in difficult listening is the most common site for the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

“We propose that altered activity in the memory system caused by hearing loss and the Alzheimer’s disease process trigger each other. Researchers now need to examine this mechanism in models of the pathological process to test if this new theory is right.” The experts developed the theory of this important link with hearing loss by bringing together findings from a variety of human studies and animal models. Future work will continue to look at this area.

REFERENCE: How can hearing loss cause dementia? TD Griffiths, M Lad, S Kumar, E Holmes, B McMurray, EA Maguire, AJ Billig, W Sedley. Neuron (2020)

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August 12^th 2020, New Delhi: Professor Sir Doug Turnbull has been awarded the Buchanan Medal by the Royal Society, the world’s oldest independent scientific academy, dedicated to promoting excellence in science. He has devoted his career to the treatment and research of mitochondrial disease and led a team at Newcastle University which changed the law to allow an IVF technique known as mitochondrial donation.

Great honour

Sir Doug said: “It is a great honour to receive the Buchanan Medal from the Royal Society, which is awarded for distinguished contributions to biomedical science. “I received this award particularly in relation to mitochondrial disease, and I have been very fortunate to work with great scientists and clinicians. From a personal perspective, it is very important that our research has made a difference to the lives of patients with mitochondrial disease.”he said.

In 2010, Sir Doug’s work was recognised when he and his colleagues were awarded coveted Wellcome Centre Status, one of only a handful in the UK. As director of the Wellcome Centre he built an internationally-renowned team of clinicians and researchers, with patients opting to travel from all over the country to be under his care.

Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialised compartments present in cells of the body. When the compartments fail, less energy is generated within the cell. The parts of the body greatest affected are the heart, brain, muscles and eyes.

Certain forms of mitochondrial disease are passed down from mother to child. Mitochondrial donation, developed in the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University, offers women with the condition the chance of having healthy children. Sir Doug developed the NHS National Highly Specialised Services for Rare Mitochondrial Diseases of Children and Adults, and is an honorary consultant neurologist at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Royal College of Physicians has recognised him and awarded him the Goulstonian Lecturer (1992), the Jean Hunter Prize (2003) and the Sims Royal College of Physicians Lecturer (2004).

Royal Society awards

The annual medals and awards celebrate exceptional researchers and outstanding contributions to science across a wide array of fields. President of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan, said: “The Royal Society’s medals and awards celebrate those researchers whose ground-breaking work has helped answer fundamental questions and advance our understanding of the world around us.

“They also champion those who have reinforced science’s place in society, whether through inspiring public engagement, improving our education system, or by making STEM careers more inclusive and rewarding. “This year has highlighted how integral science is in our daily lives, and tackling the challenges we face, and it gives me great pleasure to congratulate all our winners and thank them for their work.”

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The results of a double-blind randomised clinical trial which was carried out in six UK hospitals and led by experts at Newcastle University, UK are published  in JAMA. Mild or subclinical hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormones and is very common affecting approximately 10% of the adult population. Management of the condition is currently haphazard due to the lack of high quality evidence either for or against treatment. Some clinicians may treat whereas others may not – and this is particularly the case in high risk conditions such as heart attacks.

Observational studies have previously suggested that patients with cardiac problems, including heart attacks, and subclinical hypothyroidism are at higher risk of death. And so, current guidelines suggest that these patients should be treated with levothyroxine. This clinical trial demonstrates that treatment with levothyroxine does not improve cardiac function in patients who have had a heart attack and therefore is unlikely to be beneficial.

Dr Salman Razvi, Senior Lecturer and Consultant Endocrinologist, Newcastle University and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, explains: “The results of this trial will help clinicians reconsider offering treatment with levothyroxine to tens of thousands of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism worldwide. The results of this trial demonstrate that there are no significant improvements for patients with heart attacks who are given levothyroxine. “On this basis, screening for and subsequent treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism in patients who have had a heart attack to preserve or improve heart function is not justified.”

The clinical trial

In the trial, 95 patients were recruited with 46 receiving levothyroxine and 49 a placebo.  After 12 months, heart function improved in both groups – but there was no greater improvement in those receiving levothyroxine. Limitations of the trial include the low dose offered initially which may have reduced the therapeutic effect and there may be a more significant improvement in patients were patients to start treatment sooner (average 17 days after heart attack). In addition, 4 in 10 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism on the initial blood test had normalised their levels when rechecked a few days later.

The team will now be making this research available as part of the evidence to change existing guidelines. Dr Razvi adds: “To any patient who has had a heart attack and has been diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism, I would advise that they consult their GP on whether levothyroxine is likely to be of benefit. The results of our trial suggest that all such patients should have their thyroid function rechecked after a few weeks. Treatment with levothyroxine should not be started routinely in such patients. Furthermore, international guidelines should be amended to reflect this finding.”

REFERENCE: Effect of Levothyroxine on Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism and Acute myocardial infarction. Salman Razvi et al. JAMA.DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.9389

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A team led by Newcastle University researcher, Dr Emily Thompson, is the first to discover that a new technique called Normothermic Machine Perfusion – when combined with stem cells – can be used to improve the function of ‘marginal’ kidneys, organs that are at risk of not working as well. By treating kidneys with a type of stem cell called MultiStem®, the organs demonstrated a number of responses associated with better function caused by the release of anti-inflammatory molecules, improving blood flow to damaged cells and increasing urine production.

The research is published in the American Journal of Transplantation and Dr Thompson, from the Translational and Clinical Research institute, Newcastle University, UK and transplant surgery registrar at New castle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, led the research project. She is funded by Kidney Research UK and by the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Organ Donation and Transplantation. “By improving the quality of donor kidneys and increasing the number available, we hope to be able to reduce the waiting time and improve the health outcomes for patients,” says Dr Thompson.

Opens up exciting opportunities to explore other therapies:

Kidney transplantation is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure, however, on average, patients wait three years for an organ to become available. Many kidneys offered for donation are classified as marginal and this can often lead to post-transplant problems, increasing the chances of a patient requiring a second organ.  Dr Thompson said: “It was exciting to see the results of the research as it could offer a new way to make more kidneys suitable for transplant. It could offer hope to more people on dialysis and shorten the waiting list.

“This work has completely changed our thinking as it shows that we may be able to pre-treat the kidney directly, instead of treating the whole patient before or after transplantation. This opens up exciting opportunities to explore other therapies, such as gene therapy or other stem cells, and we are moving our research forward and looking at a lot of other drugs and therapies. “Currently these tests are done in the lab but if they transfer to the patient setting, as we hope they will, those who receive a transplant may receive better quality kidneys that last a lifetime.”

“This exciting research shows that stem cell treatment could improve the quality of donor kidneys,” says Dr Maria Tennant, Head of Communications at Kidney Research UK. “Right now, there are not enough kidney transplants available for everyone who needs one, and a transplant doesn’t last for life. We hope this treatment ultimately means more kidneys become fit for transplant and are able to last much longer.”

Normothermic Machine Perfusion technology:

Normothermic Machine Perfusion, a recently-established method for organ preservation – optimises metabolism primarily for storage and transportation and pumps oxygenated blood through the organ at body temperature, keeping the kidney working after it has been removed from the donor. This research focussed on whether the technique can also be used to deliver treatments to improve kidney function. The benefit of this technique is that treatments can be delivered directly to the kidney. It is performed while the kidney is outside of the body so there are fewer concerns about side effects in a patient.

In the research, Dr Thompson treated kidneys with an adult stem cell product candidate called MultiStem™ which is being developed by Athersys,Inc. based in Cleveland, Ohio. The treated kidneys showed a number of responses associated with better function caused by the release of anti-inflammatory molecules (cytokines and growth factors specifically reduction of IL-1beta, an increase in IL-10 and IDO activity) which improved blood flow to damaged cells leading to increased urine production.

Dr Thompson has already been recognised for this work receiving the Medawar medal from the British Transplantation Society and the Da Vinci award from the European Society of Transplantation. The next step is to find out if the improvements seen on the machine result in better transplants. Dr Thompson will be progressing the work with further research and testing and it is hoped this innovation will progress to human clinical trials within a few years.

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