A FEW cups of coffee a day may be all that is needed to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.
Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence that caffeine not only helps stave off the disease, but can treat it, too.
They hope soon to follow up the initial results from animal experiments with human patient trials.
Neuroscientist Dr Gary Ar
endash, 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."
A key aspect of Alzheimer's is sticky clumps of abnormal protein in the brain called beta amyloid plaques.
Mice with a rodent equivalent of the disease showed a 50 per cent reduction in levels of amyloid protein in their brains after scientists spiked their drinking water with caffeine.
The change was reflected in their behaviour as the mice developed better memories and quicker thinking.
Dr Arendash's team studied 55 mice genetically engineered to develop dementia symptoms.
Humans receiving an equivalent dose for their bodyweight would be consuming 500 milligrams of caffeine – or five eight-ounce cups of ordinary coffee – a day. The same amount of caffeine can be obtained by drinking two cups of strong "coffee shop" coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks.
At the end of the two-month study, the caffeine-drinking mice performed far better on tests of memory and thinking than mice given just water. Their memories were as sharp as those of healthy older mice without dementia. The scientists found that when the mice drank caffeinated water, their blood levels of beta amyloid protein quickly fell. More importantly, the same effect occurred in the brain.
Almost half the abnormal protein previously seen when the brains of Alzheimer's mice were examined had vanished after two months.
Dr Huntington Potter, director of the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre in Tampa, where the studies were conducted, said: "These are some of the most promising Alzheimer's mouse experiments ever done, showing that caffeine rapidly reduces beta amyloid protein in the blood, an effect that is mirrored in the brain, and this reduction is linked to cognitive benefit."
Other work by the same investigators indicated that caffeine reduced biological processes needed for the production of beta amyloid.
Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Previous research into caffeine and dementia has suggested that it could delay Alzheimer's disease and even protect against vascular dementia.
"This research in mice suggests coffee may actually reverse some element of memory impairment.
"However, more research is needed to determine whether coffee has the same impact in people. It is too soon to say if a coffee is anything more than a pleasant pick-me-up."
