Leiden University: Coffee and Parkinson's

Many models which have formed the basis of novel drug design may be incorrect. This is the sobering and at the same time very important discovery made by two Leiden University researchers from the Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research (LACDR).

Prof. Ad IJzerman, head of the Medicinal Chemistry division, and senior researcher Dr Rob Lane worked together with colleagues Dr Ray Stevens and Dr Veli-Pekka Jaakola from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla in the United States on clarifying the crystal structure of a particular protein - the adenosine A2A receptor. This protein is the main target in the human body for caffeine and has also been linked to Parkinson's disease.

The findings of the research, which was part-funded by Topinstituut Pharma, were reported last week in Science Express; the editorial board of Science had decided to bring forward publication of the articl, highlighting its importance.

 

Caffeine

Epidemiological research has shown that coffee-drinkers suffer less frequently from Parkinson's disease; this was associated with a daily intake of caffeine -  in the region of 100 mg - that you might expect in a cup of espresso or cappuccino.  In addition animal tests have shown that caffeine protects against attempts to induce Parkinson's disease.

This suggests that coffee, besides its invigorating effects as a stimulant, may have other beneficial actions.  There are at least two receptors which are blocked by caffeine.  One of these receptors helps us to fall asleep.  Caffeine inhibits the effect of this receptor, resulting in a 'sharper' brain, but this also causes the racing heart which some people suffer after drinking several cups of coffee. In addition to its association in Parkinson's disease, the other receptor, which IJzerman and Lane studied, plays a critical role in inflammation.

Leiden University