The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease recently published a study that demonstrated some significant results related to coffee and cognitive function. While I've written about coffee before in an earlier study, this latest research presents even more compelling evidence of the possible benefits.
Researchers in Florida measured the amount of caffeine in participants by taking blood samples and testing the caffeine plasma levels. They also tested participants' cognitive functioning at the start of the study and categorized people as fitting into one of three categories:
- Normal cognitive functioning- Overall, memory, judgment and decision-making were intact.
- Mild Cognitive Impairment- Participants displayed some difficulty in cognitive functioning. Mild cognitive impairment often develops into Alzheimer's disease.
- Dementia- The individual displayed clear impairments in cognition such as memory deficits, communication, judgment, etc.
After a period of two to four years, researchers found that a higher level of caffeine plasma (greater than 1200 ng/ml) was correlated with the following results:
- Stable cognitive functioning (no cognitive decline) was maintained in those who began the study with normal cognition.
- A lack of progression to dementia occurred in the participants who began the study in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) category. This is especially notable because there is usually a high rate of progression from MCI to dementia.
Additionally, a higher rate of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia was seen in participants whose caffeine intake was lower. The participants' caffeine levels were assumed to come directly from coffee, since they reported no other significant intake of caffeine. A caffeine level of more than 1200 ng/ml is equated with 3 or more cups of coffee a day.
I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I think it's time for me to acquire this taste!
Need to know which type of coffee was used in this trial. Only freshly brewed coffee from an expresso machine is pure. Instant coffee contains added chemicals and coffee in a beaker that sits on the hotplate brewing all day is also of very poor quality.
Is the outcome explanation just for coffee, or is this an uncontrolled experiment in which people who drink coffee have some common behaviors that helps them not get dementia ? ……. and if the effect is real, why is caffeine and not some other ingredient considered to be the cause of the positive results? Is this cause/effect or is it just an association?
Dr. Graham Sayer,
Good question. The article does not indicate (and the researchers did not address) what kind of coffee the participants drank.
Here’s a little more information about how caffeinated coffee was identified as the “very likely” cause of stable cognition. The researchers conclude in the study that “caffeinated coffee was very likely the primary dietary source of caffeine for stable MCI subjects because their blood cytokine profile was very similar to that of AD (APPsw+PS1) transgenic mice acutely given caffeinated coffee (see Cao et al. [18]). In that recent study, AD transgenic mice were given a single treatment with caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, caffeine, or saline. Of all four acute treatments, AD mice only responded to caffeinated coffee with greatly and selectively increased plasma levels of GCSF, IL-10, and IL-6.”
Thus, they conclude that it is likely, based on the results of the laboratory tests of participants’ blood, that caffeinated coffee was the source of those elevated levels of caffeine.
Thanks for asking!
Shaun,
You’re exactly right to point this out. The researchers acknowledged in the article that although the correlation was extremely strong between high blood caffeine plasma levels and stable cognition, it was indeed an association, and not necessarily a demonstration of cause and effect. They recommend controlled clinical trials to conclusively determine the effects of caffeine on cognition.
As for why caffeine, it was the blood test results that identified caffeine levels as being associated with cognition.
Thanks for writing!
If coffee is effective in preventing progression in Alzhimers would Ritalin a more effective stimulant be better?
Dr. Billy Levin,
The study did not measure if the dementia progressed or remained stable, but rather simply identified a participant as having dementia at the start of, and throughout, the study. I agree that this would be an excellent area for further study.
As for the use of Ritalin or other stimulants, this study makes specific comments about the possible benefit of “caffeinated coffee”. Based solely on this article, it does not appear that just any stimulant has these benefits for cognition, but that too may be another area of study.
Thanks for the questions!
Your articles on the benefits of coffee are great. I guess being a coffee drinker may now help explain my Dad being so active all his life and his longevity. His mental faculties deteriorated slowly, though he did die. Right on his 100th birthday.
I wonder if caffeine from cola would have the same effect.
Would a “awake” pill be helpful if you can’t get the person to drink coffee?
Is there evidence that there’s more to this, than simply that we’re more alert when sipping caffeine?
The research was tied to caffeinated coffee, as opposed to just caffeine. Coffee has some anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may be beneficial, as well as the caffeine. So, it’s doubtful that just a caffeine pill or caffeine from cola would have the same affect, although the research did not seek to answer that question, so that’s speculation at this point.
Thanks for the questions!
Could the research please include cola nut as this nut contains caffeine by nature and abundant in west africa