Caffeine linked to reversal of Alzheimer’s disease

13th July 2009

Caffeine intake could halt and even reverse the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, research at the University of South Florida has found.

The research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in early July, was based on giving caffeine to mice that had been bred to develop symptoms of the degenerative disease. The mice consumed the equivalent of 500 mg of caffeine (or what is contained in about three espresso-based coffees) daily.

Caffeine appears to reduce or block the production of beta amyloid, an abnormal protein linked to the build-up of plaques in the brain that impair cognitive function, the most common symptom of Alzheimer’s.

The mice that consumed caffeine were found to have lost close of half of the beta amyloid in their brains after two months, the researchers said.

This led the researchers to suggest that caffeine could actually reverse the progress of Alzheimer’s, perhaps restoring memory and reducing the confusion that is associated with the disease.

The research team now hopes to begin human trials of caffeine to see whether the results with the mice can be replicated.

While drinking coffee had previously been associated with protection against dementia and degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, the recent research is the first time that caffeine has been presented as a potential treatment for the disease.