Islamabad, Dec 28 :
Although caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide, its
potential beneficial effect for maintenance of proper brain functioning has only
recently begun to be adequately appreciated.
Substantial evidence from
epidemiological studies and fundamental research in animal models suggests that
caffeine may be protective against the cognitive decline seen in dementia and
Alzheimer's disease (AD).
A special supplement to the Journal of
Alzheimer's Disease, "Therapeutic Opportunities for Caffeine in Alzheimer's
Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases," sheds new light on this topic and
presents key findings.
Guest editors Alexandre de Mendonça, Institute of
Molecular Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal, and
Rodrigo A. Cunha, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra and
Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal, have assembled a group of
international experts to explore the effects of caffeine on the brain.
The resulting collection of original studies conveys multiple
perspectives on topics ranging from molecular targets of caffeine,
neurophysiological modifications and adaptations, to the potential mechanisms
underlying the behavioural and neuroprotective actions of caffeine in distinct
brain pathologies.
"Epidemiological studies first revealed an inverse
association between the chronic consumption of caffeine and the incidence of
Parkinson's disease," according to Mendonça and Cunha.
"This was
paralleled by animal studies of Parkinson's disease showing that caffeine
prevented motor deficits as well as neurodegeneration "Later a few
epidemiological studies showed that the consumption of moderate amounts of
caffeine was inversely associated with the cognitive decline associated with
aging as well as the incidence of Alzheimer's disease.
Again, this was
paralleled by animal studies showing that chronic caffeine administration
prevented memory deterioration and neurodegeneration in animal models of aging
and of Alzheimer's disease."
Ends
SA/EN
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