Coffee 'may reverse Alzheimer's'
Updated on 06 July 2009
A few cups of coffee a day may help ward off the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.
Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence that caffeine not only helps to stave off the disease but can treat it.
They hope soon to follow up the initial results from animal experiments with human patient trials.
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "In this study on mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's, researchers found that caffeine boosted their memory.
"We need to do more research to find out whether this effect will be seen in people. It is too early to say whether drinking coffee or taking caffeine supplements will help people with Alzheimer's.
"With no cure yet, research into treatments that could help people with Alzheimer's is vital."
US neuroscientist Dr Gary Arendash, who led the research, said: "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy.
"That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process."
The Florida scientists became interested in caffeine's effect on Alzheimer's several years ago after Portuguese researchers found that sufferers drank less coffee than people without the disease.
Since then several studies have suggested that moderate caffeine consumption protects against memory decline during normal ageing.
The new research was reported in two studies published online today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
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