Coffee’s fans will be happy!

Caffeine in usual doses has a protective effect on certain cerebral diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.

This was recently demonstrated by Dr. David Blum, research fellow at INSERM and his colleagues of Alzheimer & Tauopathies of Lille's laboratory.

It is now well known that habitual consumption of caffeine reduces cognitive decline in aging and the risk of developing dementia. But the effects of caffeine on diseases linked to tau were hitherto not clearly elucidated.

Although the results published in the journal Neurobiology of Agingn 'have been obtained only in mice, it is still a good news for coffee drinkers.

It should be observed that the cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease are the result of two types of lesions: the amyloid plaques that form outside of neurons and that abnormal tau protein accumulates within the cells degenerating nerve. That is why experts classify this condition in the larger family of tauopathies.

The work of Lille researchers were performed with young transgenic mice which develop gradually with age-related; a neurodegeneration linked to tau's protein. These small rodents received caffeine orally for ten months.

Review: "The mice treated with caffeine have developed a smaller pathology perspective of memory, changes in tau protein, but also neuroinflammation," said David Blum, in press Inserm . The dose of caffeine given was equivalent to two cups of coffee per day in humans.

These studies are consistent with a significant contribution of environmental factors in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

The hopes raised by this work are even more important that a recent U.S. study that also showed the effect of coffee on amyloid plaques.

 Hopefully that coffee may have other beneficial effects in advancing research.

* Joint Unit 837 Research (Inserm / Université Lille-Lille-2/Université Northern France) led by Dr. Luc Condensation