Caffeine help to control Parkinson’s disease
Having caffeine could potentially help control movement in people who have Parkinson’s disease.
Whilst epidemiologic studies have ‘consistently’ linked caffeine consumption to a lower risk of the disease, research into the symptomatic effects of caffeine in Parkinson’s “have not been adequately evaluated”.
Dr Ronald Postuma, the lead author of the study, said: “This is one of the first studies to show the benefits of caffeine on motor impairment in people who have Parkinson’s disease.
“Research has already shown that people who drink coffee have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, but until now no study had looked at the immediate clinical implications of this finding. This is one of the first studies in humans to show that caffeine can help with movement symptoms for people who already have the disease”.
Postuma noticed that the results of the study open the door to potential new therapies for the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in the world. The compound affects the central nervous system and cardiovascular system by temporarily decreasing tiredness and increasing alertness.
Postuma noticed that sleepiness was commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease.
He said: “We wanted to discover how caffeine could impact sleepiness as well as the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as slowness of movement, muscle stiffness, shaking and loss of balance”.
The research team examined 61 people suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Whilst the control group received a placebo pill, the other group were give a 100mg dose of caffeine two times daily for three weeks and then 200mg twice a day for another three weeks which is equivalent to between two and four cups of coffee per day.
Postuma said that the people who received caffeine supplements felt a improved feeling in their motor symptoms over those who received the placebo.
He added that the team found a five-point improvement on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale which is used to measure the severity of the disease.
He explained that “this was due to improvement to speed of movement and a reduction in stiffness”.
Postuma also said that while the five-point improvement was ‘modest’, it would be enough to give the advantages to people with Parkinson’s.
Caffeine did not apparently help improve daytime sleepiness and there were no changes in quality of life, depression or sleep quality in study participants.
The researchers said that the larger-scale studies now need to be carried out over a longer time period to clarify any caffeine-related improvements in symptoms.
Postuma said: “Caffeine should be explored as a treatment option for Parkinson’s disease. It may be useful as a supplement to medication and could therefore help reduce patient dosages”.
