Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that can lead to shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination. Dementia with Lewy bodies, one of the most common forms of dementia, causes problems with thinking, behavior, mood, and movement. Professor M. Maral Mouradian of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Institute for Neurological Therapeutics and co-authors have found a compound in the waxy coating of coffee beans that may team up with caffeine to fight these progressive and currently incurable diseases.
Caffeine and eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide may protect against brain degeneration. Image credit: Anja Osenberg.
“Prior research has shown that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” Professor Mouradian said.
“While caffeine has traditionally been credited as coffee’s special protective agent, coffee beans contain more than a thousand other compounds that are less well known.”
Professor Mouradian and her colleagues focused on a fatty acid derivative of the neurotransmitter serotonin, called eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide (EHT).
The scientists found that EHT protects the brains of mice against abnormal protein accumulation associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
They then wanted to find out whether EHT and caffeine could work together for even greater brain protection.
They gave mice small doses of caffeine or EHT separately as well as together.
Each compound alone was not effective, but when given together they boosted the activity of a catalyst that helps prevent the accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain.
This suggests the combination of EHT and caffeine may be able to slow or stop the progression of these diseases.
“Further research is needed to determine the proper amounts and ratio of EHT and caffeine required for the protective effect in people,” Professor Mouradian said.
“EHT is a compound found in various types of coffee but the amount varies. It is important that the appropriate amount and ratio be determined so people don’t over-caffeinate themselves, as that can have negative health consequences.”
The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Run Yan et al. Synergistic neuroprotection by coffee components eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide and caffeine in models of Parkinson’s disease and DLB. PNAS, published online December 3, 2018; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1813365115
