September 14, 2016
DRINKING coffee and eating chocolate could reduce the symptoms and make walking easier for newly diagnosed Parkinson’s Disease patients, a study has shown.
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A clinical study, published in the journal Parkinsonism and Related Disorders shows for the first time that Parkinson’s Disease patients with higher caffeine consumption presented a reduced need for standard medical treatment.
Parkinson's disease is a condition in which parts of the central nervous system become progressively damaged over many years.
Hundreds of people suffer with the condition, a non-reversible degenerative brain condition which occurs when nerve cells in the brain die.
Caffeine could help ease symptoms for sufferers, the experts said
Many people showing signs of Parkinson’s prescribed dopaminergic treatment - as dopamine agonist drugs are currently one of the main ways to treat Parkinson's symptoms.
The four-year study, conducted by scientists from the UK and Italy, investigated the clinical associations of caffeine consumption among newly diagnosed Parkinson’s disease patients.
The experts looked at the effects of a broad range of products which contain caffeine, including energy drinks and chocolate, rather than a specific one, such as coffee or tea.
The average caffeine consumption amongst study participants was 296mg a day - calculated after they filled in a Caffeine Consumption Questionnaire.
 Parkinson's disease affects one in every 500 people
But experts said an extra 50mg of caffeine - the equivalent of an espresso - could help sufferers.
The research showed people who had an extra cup of coffee a day were more likely to be associated with a decrease in symptom severity.
It concludes that higher caffeine consumption was associated with a reduced accrual of both motor and non-motor disability.
Motor symptoms in sufferers of Parkinson’s disease typically include tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability, while non-motor disabilities can include pain or depression.
Parkinson’s disease affects one in every 500 people - about 127,000 people in the UK.
There is no cure for the disease, but it can be controlled with drugs, therapy and surgery
Chris Stemman, executive director of the British Coffee Association, said: “This new study builds on previous clinical studies that have shown a higher caffeine intake is associated with a reduced rate of the ‘wearing-off’ phenomena and impairment of voluntary movement in Parkinson’s Disease patients, and further highlights the impact of caffeine intake on the burden of symptoms.
“We welcome further clinical research to be conducted in this important area to further understand how caffeine and coffee consumption can help patients.”
However, scientists said that despite the findings, it has to be emphasised that this was an ‘observational study’, specifically designed to evaluate the association between caffeine use and PD progression, and so additional factors such as smoking cigarettes could be ‘confounding’.
Watch video:
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/710635/Parkinson-s-disease-symptoms-caffeine-coffee-chocolate-walking
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