Caffeine May Improve Alzheimer’s Disease
July 6, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Women's Health
It seems too good to be true that something as simple as caffeine could improve Alzheimer’s disease, but that may be the case.
New study findings reveal that caffeine could be a viable treatment for established Alzheimer’s disease. According to University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), memory impairment was reversed when aged mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s disease were given the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day (500 mg caffeine).
Caffeine treatment removed the beta amyloid plaques from the brains of mice with Alzheimer's. Photo courtesy of Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
Researchers hope to begin human trials to evaluate if people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease may benefit from caffeine.
“These are some of the most promising Alzheimer’s mouse experiments ever done showing that caffeine rapidly reduces beta amyloid protein in the blood, an effect that is mirrored in the brain, and this reduction is linked to cognitive benefit,” said Huntington Potter, PhD, director of the Florida ADRC.
Please note that caffeine isn’t yet an improved therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. While most patients could tolerate caffeine, some individuals, such as people with high blood pressure, could be sensitive to it. Further research is needed, but these findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, are still very noteworthy!
(Photo courtesy of Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center)
