Longer Lasting Caffeine

falser writes "Caffeine addicted geeks everywhere may rejoice that scientists have discovered a protein that appears to be responsible for amplifying the caffeine buzz. It also makes the effects last longer. Just one question: how soon until we have a new generation of ultra powerful caffeine products?"

Please Read the Article

[Mick D.]

The Chemical they are talking about (DARPP-32) is what makes as long lasting as it is in humans and mice. We already have it in our brains and it creates a positive feedback mechanism that keeps the stimulating effects of caffeine going.

The mice without DARPP-32 reacted very minimally to ~6 cups of coffee worth of caffeine.

In Other News...

[Vinson Massif]

Today, Starbucks(SBUX) announced a $10 million dollar research grant prgram to alleviate the effects of the 'caffeine protein', DARPP-32, on the population.

"We believe our customers are impeded from the full experience of our product by this deleterious, evil protein." an unamed spokesman said.

"Our customers are asking for this." he continued, "It's the least we can do. That and make sure we have another super-grande-lofat-mocha-latte-ice" ready and waiting for them."

Re:Please Read the Article

[Oztun]

Yeah but the real question is - How many times does a rat need to pee before he finishes of six cups of coffee?

Yeah yeah I know sex cups of coffee worth of caffeine bleh bleh.

Hyper-caffeinated products?

[evalhalla]

From the article it seems that the proteine is already in the human (or mice's) brain, and that it prolonges the effect of caffeine, but the effect of adding such proteine in the body directly aren't clear. Maybe it has more or less the same effect of caffeine, maybe if you take it together with caffeine the body feels that there is already enough of it and you have the (gulp!) opposite effect. So one of the few researchs that could have helped caffeine-addicted people ends helping those sad "decaffeinated" people out there, and this is not good. :)

Me, I'll just stick to real coffee and use chocolate to enhance the effect of caffeine.

By the way, I wonder whether the big number of people in favour of "caffeinated" as opposed do "decaffeinated" in the pool has something to do with people from slashdot. :)

It's too big a molecule...

[Peter T Ermit]

A 32,000-dalton protein tends to get digested rather than passing directly into the protein, so you'd have to administer it intravenously. And then it has to get past the blood-brain barrier. Even if you got it directly into the brain it's far from obvious that it would have the effect you like.

Sorry, no Jolt++ for you.

er... passing directly into the bloodstream.

[Peter T Ermit]

That's what I meant.

Re:It's too big a molecule...

[g4dget]

That's easy: inject the DNA into brain cells with a gene gun and drink lots of coffee :-)

So THAT'S why coffee has so little effect on me

[renehollan]

I have to drink massive quantities of strong coffee to feel anything. It's effect on me is mostly psychological: "... ah, that first cup of warm coffee in the morning shakes off the cold of getting out of bed..." ('course I now live in Texas, where it can be 95F at 6:00AM, but you get the idea).

Perhaps I have a genetic mutation that causes this protein to not be present. Researchers also said that it may play a role in enhancing the effects of cocaine and amphetemines. If coke's reputation weren't so dangerous, it might be worth snorting a small line to see if I was immune to that too (though I do not indulge in illicit drugs for recreational purposes). Of course the U.S.'s "War on Drugs" makes such research practically impossible. Perhaps people with an excess of this protein are more likely to become addicted to coke. Certainly formal research in this area might go a long way toward understanding the chemical basis for certain drug addictions.

Re:So THAT'S why coffee has so little effect on me

[renehollan]

Or maybe you have just built up a tolerancy against caffeine.

I don't think so. I remember a doctor prescribing a cup of coffee to calm me down after overactive play as a child, saying that it has a depressive effect for some (this was before the whole ADD/ADHD hoopla) -- my parents wanted a child that was seen, but not heard.

Why aren't there any caffiene patches?

[kiick]

Wouldn't it be really convenient to just slap on a caffiene patch in the morning and forget about it? I'm sure there are times when, for whatever reasons (medical, maybe) drinking lots of coffee/coke is not advisable. We need a patch!

Re:Why aren't there any caffiene patches?

[dreamchaser]

There are, you just can't buy them anywhere. Several hosptials are testing them as a means of helping people shake off the foggy after effects of anasthesia faster.

Re:Why aren't there any caffiene patches?

[reyalsnogard]

Hopefully they'll be able to deduce whether caffeine acts as a stimulant or depressant for the client before slapping on a patch .. I'm one of the 'lucky few' who feels oddly sedated after consuming a measurable quantity of caffeine.

Re:Why aren't there any caffiene patches?

[r00tarded]

sigh, no coke in the server room.

Re:Why aren't there any caffiene patches?

[RevDobbs]

isn't that the DEA's fault?

Caffeinated Water

[Shook]

There are brands of caffeinated water. While it wouldn't have the long-lasting effect of a patch, it could skip some of the problems with coffee and cola.

Water Joe [waterjoe.com] comes to mind.

Make the leap

[Hoi Polloi]

I've already switched to methamphetamines!

interesting, this might explain why some people...

[f00zbll]

aren't affected by caffiene. I used to drink a tall glass (16oz) coke or coffee before going to bed. People used to look at me like I'm crazy, asking me "How can I sleep with that much caffiene?" It might be that those people don't have the protein. Could be an interesting research topic.

Re:interesting, this might explain why some people

[tomhudson]

re: could be tolerance

could also be a big bladder.

HyperCaffeine?

[Anonymous Coward]

IIIIII'''vvvveeeee tttrrriiieeeddd iiittt.... IIII rrrreeeeeallllyyy ddddiiiinnn'''tttt fffffeeeelll aaaaannnnyyy eeeeffffeeeccccttttssss.......

More, better caffiene.

[Valar]

This is *twitch* exactly what I *twitch* need. My *jerk, twitch* caffiene isn't strong *twitch, eyes roll back in head* strong enough. Now where did I put that 64 ounce coffee mug?

ahh the memories...

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

Now where did I put that 64 ounce coffee mug?
From alt.sysadmin.recovery, back when usenet was still really cool:
"I used to drink 6 cups of coffee in the morning and 6 in the afternoon.
This worried my cow orkers. Now I've cut down to 4.

Took me ages to find a cup that big"

L-Tyrosine is known to do this

[Deagol]

A few years ago, I was researching the ACE "stack" (Asprin, Caffeine, and Ephedra). This is often used to either: a) loose weight; or b) increase effectiveness of strength training. L-Tyrosine is an amino acid which, when added to this mix (or caffeine alone), prolongs its effects and reduces the "jitters". So go visit your local health food store for similar stuff.

Never tried it myself, though.

Re:L-Tyrosine is known to do this

[Cy Guy]

A few years ago, I was researching the ACE "stack" (Asprin, Caffeine, and Ephedra).

You don't by any chance work for the The Coffee Science Information Centre [cosic.org], do you?

Yes, believe it or not, there is a research lab whose entire focus is the ebony elixir of life. The site has lots of interesting information such as information on caffiene [cosic.org] (FYI a 10 oz cup of drip coffee has nearly three times the caffiene of a 2 oz shot of expresso); The health benefits of coffee [cosic.org]; and, a Coffee FAQ [cosic.org].

Re:Wonder if this protien is missing in Hyperactiv

[ScottBob]

Must be, I was a hyper child growing up in the 70's and I took ritalin up until the early 80's. Nowadays, I gots ta have my coffee in the morning, even though it has no effect on keeping me awake. I take a coffee break at work usually around 10 in the morning. I don't know why I even bother, because by 10:30 I fall asleep in my chair and damn near fall out of it. I've tried ritalin again recently, and sure, it does keep me awake, but then I would fall asleep rather suddenly instead of slowly dropping off like when I drink coffee. And I like to drink iced tea before going to bed, Mad River Oblong tea being one of my favorites. Except I have to get up and pee at 2 AM. But sleep aids usually have the opposite effect on me, they keep me awake.

Reason this thread only has 35 comments

[writertype]

A thread about caffeine posted at 9:35 AM the last day of LinuxWorld...who's gonna be awake to read it?

Obligatory South Park Reference

[Binome]

HyperCaffeine!? Oh man! I can't take this kind of pressure!

Eat grapefruit.

[digitaltraveller]

Seriously. The naringin in grapefruit prevents the breakdown of xanthines in the liver. The net effect is that certain pharmacological substances last longer. It works with other drugs too. It can conceivably contribute to OD-type situations as well. Also, as someone above said, the amino acid tyrosine also will potentiate the effects, as will other substances. Bodybuilders use this for dieting and have known about this for years. They are after all mostly walking lab experiments [bodybuilders.com]

Re:Eat grapefruit.

[jeff67]

Geeks with bad eating habits and good prescription drug plans should take note: Don't do this if you also take Lipitor [doctorsolve.com] to fight high cholesterol! Results can be very bad [s-t.com].