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Prevent Parkinson's! (maybe)
By
LINDSEY TANNER
CHICAGO
-- 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 I 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 -- 4½ to 5½ 6-ounce cups a
day. Non-coffee drinkers were two
to three times more likely to get the disease than men who drank 4 ounces to
four cups a day. The researchers said it is uncertain whether their results
would hold true for women and other ethnic groups.
The
study was published in today’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. Heavy coffee drinking also fits that
personality profile, he said. Symptoms of Parkinson's include hand and head tremors, loss of balance, and stiffness. Dementia and depression also can result.
Revised: Sunday, October 16, 2005
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