Can caffeine be used to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease?
The proposed link between caffeine and reductions in the beta amyloid plaque accumulation characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suggest a possible role for caffeine in AD treatment. The latest evidence linking beta amyloid protein to Alzheimer’s disease and exploring the relationship between caffeine and beta amyloid are featured in a review article in Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Caffeine Research website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jcr.2014.0027 until May 1, 2015.
In the article “Caffeine as Treatment for Alzheimer’s: A Review”, Abhishek Mohan, MD, PhD, Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA), and coauthors identify the potential opportunities for using caffeine to reduce beta amyloid levels as a means of preventing, treating, and slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
“To say that strategizing medicines to treat Alzheimer’s disorders is important is an understatement,” says Patricia A. Broderick, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Caffeine Research, Medical Professor in Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, and Adjunct Professor in Neurology, New York University Langone Medical Center and Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. “Moreover, to say that caffeine is just an ordinary staple in our lives, whether caffeine is part of coffee or a chocolate bar, is also an understatement. Thus, what Dr. Mohan has published herein is elegant in its simplicity; his work is critically on target.”
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About the Journal
Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science is a quarterly journal published online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal covers the effects of caffeine on a wide range of diseases and conditions, including mood disorders, neurological disorders, cognitive performance, cardiovascular disease, and sports performance. Journal of Caffeine Research explores all aspects of caffeine science including the biochemistry of caffeine; its actions on the human body; benefits, dangers, and contraindications; and caffeine addiction and withdrawal, across all stages of the human life span from prenatal exposure to end-of-life.
Drinking Coffee May Delay Alzheimer’s Disease
Drinking three cups of coffee per day may help turn the tide against Alzheimer’s disease among older adults who are already showing signs of memory problems, a new study shows.
According to the findings, people older than 65 who had higher blood levels of caffeine developed Alzheimer’s disease two to four years later than their counterparts with lower caffeine levels. The findings will appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms include serious memory loss, confusion, and mood changes that develop gradually and worsen with time.
The new study included 124 people aged 65 to 88 who had mild cognitive impairment, which is the medical term for mild memory loss. About 15% of people with MCI develop full-blown Alzheimer’s disease each year.
In the study, blood levels of caffeine were more than 50% lower among people with MCI who developed Alzheimer’s during follow-up, when compared with their counterparts who did not worsen. Coffee was the main, or only source, of caffeine among people in the study.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Breastfeeding Medicine, Journal of Medicinal Food, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.,
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Regular Coffee Consumption Could Keep Alzheimer’s At Bay, Report Says
A new report says the liquid gold an estimated three in five Americans drinks every day could be helpful in curbing the risk for Alzheimer’s disease – but only on a short-term basis. The analysis of coffee-related Alzheimer’s research was presented by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, a non-profit that studies the health effects of coffee, at the Alzheimer Europe conference.
“Cognitive decline is a feature of aging, and although some changes can be expected in all of us, there is some evidence that diet and lifestyle may be related to cognition,” Alzheimer Europe’s vice chairperson Iva Holmerova said in a statement. “In fact epidemiological studies suggest that certain lifestyle factors and nutritional elements, including the consumption of coffee and caffeine, may help to slow age-related cognitive decline seen in the older generation.”
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Kathryn Ryan
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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
Journal
Journal of Caffeine Research