Two pape rs have been released pointing to caffeine as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). So far, the research has only been conducted on mice, but the results were stunning. The study showed that a moderate intake of caffeine, the equivalent of about 500 milligrams daily in humans (about five cups of coffee a day), not only halted the advance of Alzheimer's symptoms in mice, it reversed them.
Earlier research had already suggested a connection between coffee consumption and the prevention of Alzheimer's, but this is the first study to suggest coffee's active ingredient, caffeine, as a possible treatment. The research was conducted by a team at the Suncoast Gerontology and Alzheimer's Center, University of South Florida College of Medicine and published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease on July 6th.
The researchers took two groups of mice, both bred to contract the mouse equivalent of Alzheimer's disease, one group was fed caffeinated water, the other group a regular diet. After two months, the mice receiving the caffeinated water scored dramatically better results in IQ testing than did the mice on a standard diet.
Perhaps even more compelling are the pictures showing the samples from each group of mouse brains. The caffeinated group had fewer of the telltale plaques (called Beta-amyloid), seen in AD brains. These plaques are thought to gum-up the brains in AD patients, causing confusion, mental impairment, and eventually death.
On top of that, the Florida researchers have also "determined that caffeine administered to elderly humans without dementia quickly affects their blood levels of B-amyloid, just as it did in the Alzheimer's mice."
So, should you you treat your parents or grandparents to some coffee? The standard disclaimers apply: ask your doctor first. (I am not a doctor.) But heck, it's just coffee, and for families like mine - my mom probably has Alzheimer's or something like it - it seems a no-brainer (no pun intended). It's just coffee. In fact, we've already started, and will bring her up to 500mg a day over time, monitoring her blood pressure all the while. You see, we don't have that much time, she's fading fast, and of course, it's just coffee.
Press release from USF Health: Caffeine reverses memory impairment in Alzheimer's mice
Journal articles: Caffeine Reverses Cognitive Impairment and Decreases Brain Amyloid-B Levels in Aged Alzheimer's Disease Mice
Caffeine Suppresses Amyloid-B Levels in Plasma and Brain of Alzheimer's Disease Transgenic Mice
