Coffee 'may reverse Alzheimer's'

7zark7

7zark7

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[size=+1]Coffee 'may reverse Alzheimer's'[/size]
Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease, US scientists say.

The Florida research, carried out on mice, also suggested caffeine hampered the production of the protein plaques which are the hallmark of the disease.

Previous research has also suggested a protective effect from caffeine.

But British experts said the Journal of Alzheimer's disease study did not mean that dementia patients should start using caffeine supplements.

The 55 mice used in the University of Florida study had been bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

First the researchers used behavioural tests to confirm the mice were exhibiting signs of memory impairment when they were aged 18 to 19 months, the equivalent to humans being about 70.

Then they gave half the mice caffeine in their drinking water. The rest were given plain water.

The mice were given the equivalent of five 8 oz (227 grams) cups of coffee a day - about 500 milligrams of caffeine.

The researchers say this is the same as is found in two cups of "specialty" coffees such as lattes or cappuccinos from coffee shops, 14 cups of tea, or 20 soft drinks.

When the mice were tested again after two months, those who were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills and performed as well as mice of the same age without dementia.

Those drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests.

In addition, the brains of the mice given caffeine showed nearly a 50% reduction in levels of the beta amyloid protein, which forms destructive clumps in the brains of dementia patients.

Further tests suggested caffeine affects the production of both the enzymes needed to produce beta amyloid.

The researchers also suggest that caffeine suppresses inflammatory changes in the brain that lead to an overabundance of the protein.

Earlier research by the same team had shown younger mice, who had also been bred to develop Alzheimer's but who were given caffeine in their early adulthood, were protected against the onset of memory problems.

Dr Gary Arendash, who led the latest study, told the BBC: "The results are particularly exciting in that a reversal of pre-existing memory impairment is more difficult to achieve.

"They provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease and not simply a protective strategy.

"That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process."

The team now hope to begin human trials of caffeine to see if the mouse findings are replicated in people.

They do not know if a lower amount of caffeine would be as effective, but said most people could safely consume the 500 milligrams per day.

However they said people with high blood pressure, and pregnant women, should limit their daily caffeine intake.

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "In this study on mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's, researchers found that caffeine boosted their memory. We need to do more research to find out whether this effect will be seen in people.

"It is too early to say whether drinking coffee or taking caffeine supplements will help people with Alzheimer's.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/8132122.stm

Published: 2009/07/05 22:10:54 GMT

© BBC MMIX
 
Apologies if this does not belong here, but thought it was pretty interesting nonetheless. :)
 
drug_mentor said:
Yeah, somehow I doubt coffee is a magic cure for alzheimers.
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It doesn't claim a 'magic cure', it's just reporting the findings of a study which looks fairly promising. Would you be any less doubtful if they mentioned a new compound that you were unaware of? How about if it was closely related to caffeine? To each their own.

7zark7 said:
When the mice were tested again after two months, those who were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills and performed as well as mice of the same age without dementia.

Those drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests.

In addition, the brains of the mice given caffeine showed nearly a 50% reduction in levels of the beta amyloid protein, which forms destructive clumps in the brains of dementia patients.

Further tests suggested caffeine affects the production of both the enzymes needed to produce beta amyloid.
Click to expand...

BBC has covered this topic before with other compounds though this one is quite unique because of how commonly caffeine is consumed all over. Hopefully the results transfer to humans with similar or better outcomes.
 
Yeah, I just find it hard to believe there aren't a TONNE of coffee drinkers with alzheimer's disease. If there was much merit to this it probably would of been discovered by now imho, thats just an opinion and I am not a medical expert nor did I claim it was wrong, just that I personally doubt it which I am entitled to do.
 
As a coffee fiend, I find this news very good indeed.

At the first nursing home where I worked, the only caffeinated coffee on the premises was in the staff lounge. We were strictly forbidden to give it to residents. All the coffee served elsewhere was decaf, even if they lied to the residents and told them otherwise. We were told that the possible drug interactions caffeine could cause were deemed a liability. I also suspect the staff and administration wanted the residents asleep and out of their hair as much of the day as possible :\

Much to my surprise, when I went to live in a different nursing home in May as part of a research project, the place dished out REAL caffeinated coffee like it was candy. The charge nurse raised an eyebrow to my question about drug interactions, and told me that was ridiculous, and that real coffee has all sorts of health benefits that outweigh any risks in the elderly population.

I noticed that the latter nursing home seemed to be doing a much better job managing the symptoms of their dementia patients, from the looks of it. I know that correlation does not imply causation, but I did find it striking, and can definitely say that the latter place is much closer to the cutting edge of elder care.

The only dangerous drug-drug interactions I've noticed with caffeine have involved stimulants, and that class of drugs is scarcely ever used in the elderly, due to cardiovascular side effects. Can anyone more medically or biochemically knowledgeable than myself name some other risks of caffiene in a person who's on a lot of prescription drugs?
 
^ I don't know about drug interactions with caffeine but I know some medicines have caffeine in them. I don't know if it is to help certain medicines, just used as a filler or to prevent abuse but if an elderly person was taking a fair whack of caffeine in their pills and drank a lot of coffee they would probably be looking at heart problems in the not too distant future.
 
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