Coffee and neurological diseases
The general public believes that drinking 200 mg of caffeine (about 2.5 cups of coffee) in one breath, or drinking no more than 400 mg of caffeine (5 cups) a day, will not harm the body, and it will affect the alertness and Healthy, focused attention can help, and can reduce the risk of depression and enhance the effects of medications for headaches, among other things.
Long-term consumption of coffee or caffeine may prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of stroke, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, but may increase anxiety and disrupt sleep in some people.
In terms of epilepsy, the role of coffee is still controversial. Studies in animal models have found that short-term use of caffeine can lower the threshold of epilepsy and make seizures easier. On the contrary, long-term use of coffee/caffeine has been found in human studies. Reduces seizures and reduces brain damage in status epilepticus.
Caffeine alcohol (kahweol) can protect nerve cells from being damaged, for example, it can protect the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-hydroxydopamine; 6-OHDA) neurons related to Parkinson's disease from death. Studies have found that coffee beans can induce heme oxygenase-1 (heme oxygenase-1) through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; PI3K) and p38/Nrf2 pathways, and through 6-hydroxy derivatization Oxidative stress (6-hydroxydopamine-derived oxidative stress) to protect dopamine neurons.
Coffee reduces relative risk of Parkinson's disease through multiple mechanisms
Parkinson's disease (Parkinson's disease) is a neurodegenerative disease with an incidence rate second only to Alzheimer's disease. The cause is still unknown, but it is related to the inability to produce enough dopamine due to the degeneration of brain cells in the substantia nigra of the brain.
Why do substantia nigra cells degenerate? It is not clear at present, and it is speculated that it may be related to genes, environment or life factors, such as abuse of antibiotics, heavy metal pollution and so on. Several recent studies have shown that drinking coffee can prevent Parkinson's disease.
60-80% of patients with Parkinson's disease have constipation problem, and it starts as early as 10-20 years before symptoms appear. In 2014, the team of the Department of Neurology of National Taiwan University Hospital analyzed 550,000 cases of Parkinson's disease in the national health insurance database, and once again confirmed that people with constipation have a much higher probability of developing Parkinson's disease in the future than ordinary people, and the more severe the constipation , the higher the probability.
((How many cups of coffee should you drink to reduce the risk of dementia? The answer is on the next page))