Anyone read any research articles regarding coffee intake and essential
tremors or other neurological diseases or syndromes?

Sincerely,

Nancy

Perry Cohen wrote:
>
> http://neurology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2000/11/11.14/20001113epid006.html
>
> Anthony J. Brown, MD
>
> WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Nov 14 - Drinking coffee may reduce the
> risk of
> Parkinson's disease, according to a recent study by investigators from
> the Mayo Clinic, in
> Rochester, Minnesota. The reason for the association is unclear, but the
> study warns that
> this "does not imply that coffee has a direct protective effect against
> Parkinson's disease."
>
> In a report published in the November 14th issue of Neurology, Dr.
> Demetrius M.
> Maraganore and colleagues identified 196 subjects who developed
> Parkinson's disease
> (PD) from 1976 to 1995. "Each case was individually matched by age and
> sex to a
> general population control subject" who was "free of PD, other
> parkinsonism, or tremor
> of any type." The medical records of all subjects were reviewed to
> abstract exposure
> information.
>
> The researchers found that "coffee drinking was significantly more
> common in control
> subjects than cases." The investigators noted a "significant trend of
> decreasing risk with
> increasing number of cups per day." Furthermore, PD patients who drank
> coffee
> experienced a later onset of the disease than those who did not. These
> findings, the
> authors mention, agree with other reports that have shown an inverse
> association
> between coffee use and PD.
>
> "The inverse association with coffee remained significant after
> adjustment for education,
> smoking, and alcohol drinking and was restricted to PD cases with onset
> at age [younger
> than] 72 years and to men," the authors state.
>
> An association between PD and tobacco use was also demonstrated. Tobacco
> chewing
> or snuff use was "significantly more common in control subjects than
> cases." The
> association with tobacco smoking was similar, but it did not reach
> statistical significance.
>
> Also, significantly more alcoholics were identified among the control
> subjects than among
> the PD patients. Although previous reports have demonstrated a
> relationship between
> alcohol consumption and a lower risk of PD, no such association was
> observed in this
> study.
>
> The investigators suggest a premorbid personality, stimulant
> intolerance, or an underlying
> olfactory deficit may explain the low use of stimulants seen in PD
> patients. Another
> possibility, the authors mention, is that coffee use, smoking, and
> drinking alcohol may
> have a direct protective effect against PD.
>
> Caffeine has been shown in some studies to block adenosine receptors.
> "Interestingly, the
> adenosine A-2A receptor modulates the nigrostriatal dopamine system, and
> antagonists
> of that receptor have been proposed as therapy for PD," the authors
> report.
>
> "Against a causal association between coffee, smoking, and possibly
> alcohol and PD is
> the lack of specificity. Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol have different
> pharmacologic or
> metabolic effects on the brain," the authors state.
>
> Reached for comment, Dr. Maraganore told Reuters Health that a study
> earlier this year
> showed similar findings. Many patients asked if they should be consuming
> more coffee,
> he said. Dr. Maraganore emphasized that one must look at the whole
> picture and not
> simply assume that coffee prevents PD.
>
> Neurology 2000;55:1350-1358.