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Medical Forum / General / Alternative / October 2006Coffee Protective Against Alzheimer's
Neuroscience. 2006 Aug 25 Caffeine protects Alzheimer's mice against cognitive impairment and reduces brain beta-amyloid production. Arendash GW, Schleif W, Rezai-Zadeh K, Jackson EK, Zacharia LC, Cracchiolo JR, Shippy D, Tan J. The Byrd Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL 33647, USA; Memory and Aging Research Laboratory, SCA 110, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA. A recent epidemiological study suggested that higher caffeine intake over decades reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study sought to determine any long-term protective effects of dietary caffeine intake in a controlled longitudinal study involving AD transgenic mice. Caffeine (an adenosine receptor antagonist) was added to the drinking water of amyloid precursor protein, Swedish mutation (APPsw) transgenic (Tg) mice between 4 and 9 months of age, with behavioral testing done during the final 6 weeks of treatment. The average daily intake of caffeine per mouse (1.5 mg) was the human equivalent of 500 mg caffeine, the amount typically found in five cups of coffee per day. Across multiple cognitive tasks of spatial learning/reference memory, working memory, and recognition/identification, Tg mice given caffeine performed significantly better than Tg control mice and similar to non-transgenic controls. In both behaviorally-tested and aged Tg mice, long-term caffeine administration resulted in lower hippocampal beta-amyloid (Abeta) levels. Expression of both Presenilin 1 (PS1) and beta secretase (BACE) was reduced in caffeine-treated Tg mice, indicating decreased Abeta production as a likely mechanism of caffeine's cognitive protection. The ability of caffeine to reduce Abeta production was confirmed in SweAPP N2a neuronal cultures, wherein concentration-dependent decreases in both Abeta1-40 and Abeta1-42 were observed. Although adenosine A(1) or A(2A) receptor densities in cortex or hippocampus were not affected by caffeine treatment, brain adenosine levels in Tg mice were restored back to normal by dietary caffeine and could be involved in the cognitive protection provided by caffeine. Our data demonstrate that moderate daily intake of caffeine may delay or reduce the risk of AD. > Neuroscience. 2006 Aug 25 > Caffeine protects Alzheimer's mice against cognitive [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > moderate daily intake of caffeine may delay or > reduce the risk of AD. That study must have put a broad smile on your face! Cheers! Another recent study provided support for moderate daily alcohol consumption (1 to 2 drinks daily.) That group had the lowest incidence of heart attacks. The highest incidence was in the group that didn't drink at all. (Perhaps the heaviest drinkers died in accidents BEFORE they had heart attacks.) Thanks for providing evidence of the positive effects of the herbal effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't classify coffee as a drug due to its medical effects. > Thanks for providing evidence of the positive effects of > the herbal effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't > classify coffee as a drug due to its medical effects. Note that these are not ordinary mice. They are "transgenic" mice, which have been given the gene for human beta-amyloid precursor protein. These "humanized" mice are a far closer model to human Alzheimer's disease than any other animal model. They permit experiments that would be unethical, take too long, and cost too much money if performed on humans. For more information about these transgenic mice, see: http://www.taconic.com/anmodels/001349.htm >> Thanks for providing evidence of the positive effects of >> the herbal effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't >> classify coffee as a drug due to its medical effects. > >Note that these are not ordinary mice. They >are "transgenic" mice, ... and isn't it just a great thing that these mice are never used in drug development! But point taken--mice studies don't necessarily reflect the human situation. > > Thanks for providing evidence of the positive effects of > > the herbal effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > more information about these transgenic mice, > see: http://www.taconic.com/anmodels/001349.htm One problem, IMHO, with using these types of rodents is that the layman can over-interpret the results of experiments done using them as subjects. Case in point: those studies done long ago on saccharine and bladder cancer used Sprague-Dawley (sp?) rats...rats specifically bred to be hyper-prone to the development of malignancies. Brand-name TAB went under (until revived by another company, if I recall correctly) because of the crazy outcry that "Tab causes cancer!!!" As an aside, I had a science teacher in the 7th grade, in rural Kentucky, who was insightful enough to tell us, in 1978 no less, that to get the same results in humans, the human subject would have to consume about a kilogram of saccharine per day for 5 years in order to develop cancer at the same rate as the S-D rats. I suppose that was my first introduction to the process of using one's mind instead of one's heart when evaluating matters of science. (Cue Jan to call me a heathen or something.) Just my tuppence... Mark, MD >> > Thanks for providing evidence of the positive effects of >> > the herbal effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > (Cue Jan to call me a heathen or something.) Heathen or something. *;* > Just my tuppence... > > Mark, MD >> Neuroscience. 2006 Aug 25 >> Caffeine protects Alzheimer's mice against cognitive [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] > effects of coffee. Let's hope that the FDA doesn't classify coffee as a > drug due to its medical effects. Don't joke around. The subject has come up, starting from your scenario to applying a tax on coffee. > Neuroscience. 2006 Aug 25 > Caffeine protects Alzheimer's mice against cognitive [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > moderate daily intake of caffeine may delay or > reduce the risk of AD. ... and there I was adding extra tumeric to my curries. > > Neuroscience. 2006 Aug 25 > > Caffeine protects Alzheimer's mice against cognitive [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > reduce the risk of AD. > ... and there I was adding extra tumeric to my curries. Tumeric was on the bbc.co.uk website today, for 'help for arthritis': http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6090460.stm |
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