Study Says Caffeine Might Protect Against Parkinson's Disease

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CHICAGO (AP) - An intriguing new study suggests coffee may prevent
Parkinson's disease.

How a product that makes people jittery could keep them from getting a
disease that gives them tremors is a paradox not examined in the study of
8,004 Japanese-American men in Hawaii.

But the researchers said the benefits are probably due to caffeine -
apparently the more, the better - and they suggest some theories about how it
might work.

Outside experts said that if the findings hold up, they could lead to ways to
treat Parkinson's more effectively or even prevent the disease, a
degenerative brain disorder that affects about 1 million Americans.

The study found that men who didn't drink coffee were five times more likely
to develop Parkinson's than those who drank the most - 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 6-ounce
(170 gram) cups a day. Non-coffee drinkers were two to three times more
likely to get the disease than men who drank 4 ounces (114 grams) to four
cups a day.

The researchers said it is uncertain whether their results would hold true in
women and other ethnic groups.

The study was published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association. It was led by Dr. G. Webster Ross, a neurologist at the Veterans
Administration Medical Center in Honolulu.

Ross said it is possible that heavy coffee drinkers have a brain composition
that may make them resistant to Parkinson's. Previous studies have found low
rates of Parkinson's in "thrill-seeking" people who tend to engage in
high-risk behavior like smoking and heavy drinking, and heavy coffee drinking
also fits that personality profile, he said.

But he also suggested that caffeine may somehow protect against the
nerve-cell destruction that causes Parkinson's.

Still, Ross said it is too early to recommend coffee as a treatment.

"Hopefully, this will lead to more basic research on caffeine and its effect
on areas of the brain affected by Parkinson's disease," Ross said.

Ross said his study was larger than similar previous research and took into
account other factors that could explain the findings, such as cigarette
smoking, which has also been linked to a decreased Parkinson's risk.

Paul Carvey, director of the neuropharmacology research laboratories at
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, said the study is
important because it traced the benefits to caffeine, showing similar results
with caffeine-laden foods other than coffee.

Dr. Abraham Lieberman, medical director for the National Parkinson
Foundation, called the results "very interesting and very provocative." He
said that if caffeine does have benefits, it is unclear whether it can
actually prevent Parkinson's or slow its progression.

Parkinson's is usually associated with aging, though it has made headlines
recently with actor Michael J. Fox's disclosure that he was diagnosed seven
years ago at age 30. Attorney General Janet Reno and Muhammad Ali are among
others with Parkinson's.

The disease involves gradual deterioration of nerve cell clusters that make
the chemical dopamine, which helps control muscle movements. Ross and
colleagues speculated that caffeine might increase dopamine levels.

Symptoms of Parkinson's include hand and head tremors, loss of balance, and
stiffness. Dementia and depression also can result.

Medication helps victims function, but over time the disease usually renders
patients unable to care for themselves. Its cause is unknown.

The researchers examined data from the ongoing Honolulu Heart Program.
Participants - age 53 on average when the study began - were asked about
coffee consumption at the outset in 1965 and again in 1971. The researchers
then measured Parkinson's disease rates from 1991 to 1996. The disease
developed in 102 men.