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Tampa Researchers Find Caffeine Eases Alzheimer's Effects

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By Greg Williams of The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 28, 2007

TAMPA - "There's nothing that gets into the brain faster than caffeine," says Gary Arendash, a research professor at the University of South Florida.

The stimulant effect of caffeine, widely consumed in coffee and tea, is common knowledge. In scientific terms, caffeine promotes increased alertness by interacting with brain receptors.

Arendash, who has been involved in neuroscience research for more than 25 years, took note of reports of reduced caffeine intake among individuals affected by Alzheimer's disease — a degenerative brain disorder that causes problems with memory, behavior and the ability to think.

As part of his work with the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute, Arendash and a team of researchers set out to learn more about caffeine's effects.

The first phase of their studies focused on mice whose genetic makeup had been altered to introduce the human gene for Alzheimer's disease. Through a series of learning and memory tests, the researchers found that long-term caffeine consumption appeared to have a profound effect on mice that were genetically programmed to develop Alzheimer's.

A caffeine regimen — the human equivalent of five cups of coffee daily — protected Alzheimer's mice from the memory impairment that they otherwise would have developed.

And when caffeine was given to Alzheimer's mice that were already memory-impaired, their memory was restored to the level of normal mice.

When researchers examined the brain tissue of the mice, these observations were confirmed on a cellular level: Long-term caffeine intake had reduced the disease's crippling effect on the brain.

Caffeine wasn't merely masking the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, it was affecting the basic disease progression.

Reporting their initial findings in the journal Neuroscience, Arendash and his colleagues reflected their hopes for the second phase of the study — human clinical trials, in which caffeine tablets are administered to volunteer participants:

"Given the already widespread use and acceptance of coffee in moderate amounts," they wrote, "long-term coffee intake could be a viable strategy" for reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

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