| Does Drinking Coffee Prevent Parkinson's Disease? |  |
| Does Drinking Coffee Prevent Parkinson's Disease? | |
| May 25, 2000
(This study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 24, 2000) |
Ahhhh...a hot cup of coffee to start the day or as an afternoon
"pick-me-up" or with dessert after a nice meal. Enjoyable, yes - and
maybe healthy too. Now there is evidence that the caffeine in coffee may
lower the risk of developing Parkinson's disease.
What is Parkinson's Disease? Parkinson's disease
afflicts approximately 1 million to 1.5 million people in the U.S., most
of whom are 60 years old or older. The disorder is seen in people of all
ethnic groups and among men and women in equal numbers. There is no known
cause and no cure, just treatments to help control the symptoms of
trembling arms and legs, trouble speaking, and difficulty coordinating
movement. Parkinson's disease occurs when neurons degenerate (lose the
ability to function normally) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra. Many of these neurons that degenerate
contain the neurotransmitter called dopamine. As these neurons degenerate,
dopamine levels fall, and the balance between dopamine and other
neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, is thrown off. This
neurotransmitter imbalance affects the way muscles work and leads to
movement problems. |
| Products
that Contain Caffeine Coffee Tea Cocoa Chocolate Cola drinks Mountain Dew Dr. Pepper Anacin No Doz | New Research: Caffeine May Provide Protection from Parkinson's Disease As part of a long-term study of the Honolulu Heart
Program, a
team of researchers examined the relationship between coffee intake and
the incidence of Parkinson's disease. Researchers studied 8,004
Japanese-American men over a 30 year period. Of these men, 102 developed
Parkinson's disease. The incidence of Parkinson's disease was found to be
lower in those who drank coffee. In fact, the men who drank the most
coffee were the least likely to get Parkinson's disease (see
graph). Men who did not drink any coffee were five times more likely to
exhibit symptoms of Parkinson's disease than men who drank more than 28
ounces of coffee each day. Consumption of caffeine from other sources such
as
green tea, black tea, chocolate and soda was also associated with a lower
risk of Parkinson's disease. |
Why Should Coffee Reduce the Risk of Parkinson's Disease? Caffeine belongs to the xanthine
chemical group. A naturally occurring xanthine in the brain called
adenosine is used as a neurotransmitter at some synapses. When adenosine
receptors are blocked, levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine increase.
Caffeine may protect against Parkinson's disease by blocking adenosine
receptors, thus increasing the amount of dopamine in the brain.
|
Try it! |
How much caffeine do you consume each day? Use this worksheet to keep track of the products with caffeine that you consume. Write down the name of the product, the amount you consume of each product (for example, the number of ounces, grams, cups, bars, pills), the amount of caffeine in each product and the time that you consumed the product. Use separate worksheets if you want to track your caffeine consumption on different days. |
References and further information:
|
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Although the new research is suggestive of a link
between caffeine and Parkinson's disease, it is too early to say
that caffeine will prevent Parkinson's disease. Perhaps the brains of
people who like and dislike coffee are different. It may be that this
difference results in the different incidence of Parkinson's disease and
in the consumption of coffee. Also, the study included older,
Japanese-American men. It is unknown if the caffeine/Parkinson disease
relationship holds for other ethnic groups, women and younger people. As
with many preliminary studies, this research requires further experiments
to establish a causal link between caffeine and reduced incidence of
Parkinson's disease.