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Caffeine seen as possible Alzheimer deterrent
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That cup of coffee (more accurately cups of coffee) could help in the
fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Do you like your morning cup of coffee?
You'll like it even more when you learn that a new study suggests coffee can actually reduce the plaque that collects in the brain and is primarily responsible for the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
This is hopeful news, even if the study is in its very early stages.
Any means to control a disease that robs a person of his/her memories and their functional personality should come as interesting news to Baby Boomers who worry about their own predilection toward Alzheimer's or have parents who are afflicted or might be afflicted.
The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, says that with moderate amount of caffeine -- the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day – the memory impairment of mice was reversed.
The caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
“The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable ‘treatment’ for established Alzheimer’s disease, and not simply a protective strategy,” said lead author Gary Arendash, PhD, a neuroscientist at the University of South Florida where the study was done.
“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 study included 55 mice that were genetically altered to develop memory problems mimicking Alzheimer’s disease as they aged. These mice began to exhibit signs of memory impairment at the equivalent human age of 70. Half of the mice were given plain water, half were given water spiked with caffeine.
The so-called Alzheimer’s mice received the equivalent of five 8-oz. cups of regular coffee a day. The study said that's the same amount of caffeine – 500 milligrams -- as contained in two cups of specialty coffees like Starbucks, or 14 cups of tea, or 20 soft drinks.
According to the study, the caffeinated mice performed much better on memory tests and thinking skills, so much so that their memories were identical to normal aged mice without dementia. The Alzheimer’s mice drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests.
The study found that the caffeine reduced by 50 percent the levels of beta amyloid, a substance responsible for the sticky clumps of plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s diseased brain.
Keep in mind that Alzheimer’s attacks nearly half of Americans age 85 and older, and Alzheimer’s and other dementias triple healthcare costs for those age 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
So what happens next?
Researchers hope to begin human trials to evaluate whether caffeine can benefit people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease.
"Our goal is to obtain the funding needed to translate the therapeutic discoveries in mice into well-designed clinical trials," said Huntington Potter, PhD, director of the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
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