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But the demented mice fed caffeine found the platforms about as well as the normal mice.
Furthermore, their brains contained fewer plaques and lower beta-amyloid levels than the brains of mice that drank straight water.
"There were rather striking benefits" of caffeine, said Dr. Gary Arendash of USF's Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and lead author on the journal article. "There was reversal of memory impairment in mice, which leads us to believe that caffeine could be a very attractive treatment for the disease."
Caffeine did not improve the performance of normal mice, ruling out the possibility that extra adrenaline led to better scores.
William Thies, chief medical officer for the Alzheimer's Association, called the study interesting but noted that other substances have reduced beta-amyloid and improved cognition in mice, but have flopped in humans.
Human Alzheimer's is a complex constellation of symptoms and events that destroy brain cells. Scientists are far from understanding how these factors interrelate.
Arendash acknowledges the limitations of mouse studies and wants to move quickly into human clinical trials on caffeine. He notes that a recent Finnish epidemiological study indicated that people with Alzheimer's drank less coffee over the course of their lives than people of similar ages who did not have Alzheimer's.
People with Parkinson's disease and Type II diabetes also reported less coffee consumption than healthy people of similar ages.
Such backward-looking surveys have limited use. People often underestimate or exaggerate their lifestyle choices. And maybe coffee drinkers exercised more, ate their veggies or had other habits that explain any health differences later in life.
"We are not saying this is the silver bullet," Arendash said. "But there is something about this compound that has benefits for aging bodies."
The true test would be human clinical trials, but caffeine would face several hurdles.
Even a small, pilot trial can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Arendash said.
Caffeine can't be patented, so the drug manufacturers that bankroll most Alzheimer's trials are unlikely to show interest.
Caffeine would have one advantage when it comes to human trials, Thies said.
"It has a very long safety history and is broadly distributed in the population," he said. "You have a much less chance of hurting anybody."
Furthermore, their brains contained fewer plaques and lower beta-amyloid levels than the brains of mice that drank straight water.
"There were rather striking benefits" of caffeine, said Dr. Gary Arendash of USF's Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and lead author on the journal article. "There was reversal of memory impairment in mice, which leads us to believe that caffeine could be a very attractive treatment for the disease."
Caffeine did not improve the performance of normal mice, ruling out the possibility that extra adrenaline led to better scores.
William Thies, chief medical officer for the Alzheimer's Association, called the study interesting but noted that other substances have reduced beta-amyloid and improved cognition in mice, but have flopped in humans.
Human Alzheimer's is a complex constellation of symptoms and events that destroy brain cells. Scientists are far from understanding how these factors interrelate.
Arendash acknowledges the limitations of mouse studies and wants to move quickly into human clinical trials on caffeine. He notes that a recent Finnish epidemiological study indicated that people with Alzheimer's drank less coffee over the course of their lives than people of similar ages who did not have Alzheimer's.
People with Parkinson's disease and Type II diabetes also reported less coffee consumption than healthy people of similar ages.
Such backward-looking surveys have limited use. People often underestimate or exaggerate their lifestyle choices. And maybe coffee drinkers exercised more, ate their veggies or had other habits that explain any health differences later in life.
"We are not saying this is the silver bullet," Arendash said. "But there is something about this compound that has benefits for aging bodies."
The true test would be human clinical trials, but caffeine would face several hurdles.
Even a small, pilot trial can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Arendash said.
Caffeine can't be patented, so the drug manufacturers that bankroll most Alzheimer's trials are unlikely to show interest.
Caffeine would have one advantage when it comes to human trials, Thies said.
"It has a very long safety history and is broadly distributed in the population," he said. "You have a much less chance of hurting anybody."
