A cup of joe a day may keep Alzheimer's at bay.
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If you are of those people who can't make it through the day without a few cups of coffee or a favorite cola, word comes that caffeine may have a benefit beyond helping to keep you alert.
All that caffeine actually may protect you against Alzheimer's disease.
Long-term intake of caffeine -- the chemical stimulant common to coffee and many teas and soft drinks -- may help delay or reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer's, scientists now say. They found that mice genetically predisposed to the degenerative brain disease were protected against memory impairment if they consumed 500 mg of caffeine daily, the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., will appear in the next issue of the journal, Neuroscience.
"The mice who received the caffeine were completely normal across many cognitive measures, although they had the Alzheimer's gene," said lead researcher Gary W. Arendash, a research professor at the institute. The caffeine helped reduce amounts of an abnormal brain protein, beta-amyloid, that has been shown to cause Alzheimer's disease, he said.
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 150,000 people in New Jersey. By 2025, that number is expected to surpass 170,000 people, according to the Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
"I already have two cups in the morning, but if I am ever hesitant about having one more in the afternoon, this will remove that concern," said Annette Speach, 53, who works as an executive assistant to the township manager in Montclair.
But some Alzheimer's experts are warning that more study is needed on human subjects before caffeine can be declared beneficial.
"It's not a clarion call for everybody to increase their consumption," said Bill Thies, vice president of medical and scientific relations for the national Alzheimer's Association, who quickly pointed out the study was done on mice.
Arendash and his colleagues studied 57 mice. Fourteen were randomly chosen to be administered caffeine in their drinking water from when they were 4 months old to 9 months old, when amyloid levels are rapidly increasing. The rest of the mice got plain water.
The mice were divided into three groups -- normal mice who got water containing no caffeine, mice genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's who received the caffeine-laced water, and mice genetically predisposed to the disease who did not receive caffeine.
For each group, behavioral testing began around 8 months of age and consisted of a six-week battery of tasks, which tested, among other things, learning and recognition.
Arendash said the mice predisposed to Alzheimer's who were on caffeine performed much better than those who did not receive it, and did as well or better than normal mice.
Even when the researchers gave caffeine to aged Alzheimer's mice already showing high levels of beta-amyloid in their brains, caffeine intake resulted in lowering levels of the bad protein, he said. This suggests that people who already have Alzheimer's could benefit from a moderate daily intake of caffeine.
"We're now investigating the exact mechanism in caffeine that gave it the beneficial effect," Arendash said.
His study arose from research published earlier this year in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that tracked 670 men over 10 years. It found that men who drank as little as one cup of coffee a day functioned better in areas such as attention and recall than those who didn't. Maximum benefit was shown in those drinking three cups a day.
Those researchers, out of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, cited coffee compounds such as magnesium as possibly protecting against "free radical" molecules that cause damage to brain neurons.
"I think people have been saddled with the old myths about coffee, which are now falling by the wayside," said Joe DeRupo, a spokesman for the National Coffee Association.
Angela Stewart writes about health care. She may be reached at (973) 392-4178 or astewart@starledger.com.
All that caffeine actually may protect you against Alzheimer's disease.
Long-term intake of caffeine -- the chemical stimulant common to coffee and many teas and soft drinks -- may help delay or reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer's, scientists now say. They found that mice genetically predisposed to the degenerative brain disease were protected against memory impairment if they consumed 500 mg of caffeine daily, the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., will appear in the next issue of the journal, Neuroscience.
"The mice who received the caffeine were completely normal across many cognitive measures, although they had the Alzheimer's gene," said lead researcher Gary W. Arendash, a research professor at the institute. The caffeine helped reduce amounts of an abnormal brain protein, beta-amyloid, that has been shown to cause Alzheimer's disease, he said.
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 150,000 people in New Jersey. By 2025, that number is expected to surpass 170,000 people, according to the Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
"I already have two cups in the morning, but if I am ever hesitant about having one more in the afternoon, this will remove that concern," said Annette Speach, 53, who works as an executive assistant to the township manager in Montclair.
But some Alzheimer's experts are warning that more study is needed on human subjects before caffeine can be declared beneficial.
"It's not a clarion call for everybody to increase their consumption," said Bill Thies, vice president of medical and scientific relations for the national Alzheimer's Association, who quickly pointed out the study was done on mice.
Arendash and his colleagues studied 57 mice. Fourteen were randomly chosen to be administered caffeine in their drinking water from when they were 4 months old to 9 months old, when amyloid levels are rapidly increasing. The rest of the mice got plain water.
The mice were divided into three groups -- normal mice who got water containing no caffeine, mice genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's who received the caffeine-laced water, and mice genetically predisposed to the disease who did not receive caffeine.
For each group, behavioral testing began around 8 months of age and consisted of a six-week battery of tasks, which tested, among other things, learning and recognition.
Arendash said the mice predisposed to Alzheimer's who were on caffeine performed much better than those who did not receive it, and did as well or better than normal mice.
Even when the researchers gave caffeine to aged Alzheimer's mice already showing high levels of beta-amyloid in their brains, caffeine intake resulted in lowering levels of the bad protein, he said. This suggests that people who already have Alzheimer's could benefit from a moderate daily intake of caffeine.
"We're now investigating the exact mechanism in caffeine that gave it the beneficial effect," Arendash said.
His study arose from research published earlier this year in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that tracked 670 men over 10 years. It found that men who drank as little as one cup of coffee a day functioned better in areas such as attention and recall than those who didn't. Maximum benefit was shown in those drinking three cups a day.
Those researchers, out of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands, cited coffee compounds such as magnesium as possibly protecting against "free radical" molecules that cause damage to brain neurons.
"I think people have been saddled with the old myths about coffee, which are now falling by the wayside," said Joe DeRupo, a spokesman for the National Coffee Association.
Angela Stewart writes about health care. She may be reached at (973) 392-4178 or astewart@starledger.com.
posted by Valery Yermalitsky at
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