Hello Clare and Craig
A good starting point for any research of the literature is always 'our' - the Alzheimer's Society's own website !! - QRD (Quality research in dementia) is the Societys's research section & a reliable comment on the most uptodate research canusually be found by doing a search.
From the Alzheimer's Societys website :
Mind your head: risk factors and dementia
Can drinking coffee/tea affect your risk of dementia?
There have been suggestions that caffeine might delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. However, research has involved only small numbers of people and often relied on their memory of how much coffee they drank much earlier in their lives. It is hoped that current research will yield a clearer picture of the impact of known caffeine consumption on dementia risk.
What the research tells us
There are three effects of caffeine that might enable it to protect against or reverse brain changes related to dementia. Firstly, it can stimulate brain cells to take in choline. This is the building block they need to make acetylcholine, the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, that is reduced in dementia.
Secondly, caffeine interferes with the action of another neurotransmitter called adenosine. It has been suggested that this action, or the 'knock-on' effect on other neurotransmitters, might be beneficial in Alzheimer’s disease.
Finally, chemicals related to caffeine seem to be able to damp down the activity of 'housekeeping' cells in the brain, called glia. A recent review of one such chemical, propentofylline, concluded that it might benefit cognition, global function and activities of daily living in people with Alzheimer's disease and/or vascular dementia, but further information is awaited.
While glia are important in keeping the brain free of dead and injured cells, their activity can sometimes be too thorough, and can damage surrounding brain areas. Whether caffeine can keep glial activity in check in such a way that it could prevent dementia is not known.
Should I start drinking more coffee/tea?
It is certainly too soon to say that our morning coffee or afternoon cup of tea is more than a pleasant pick-me-up.
Where to find out more:
Sci ref: Frampton M et al. (2003) Propentofylline for Dementia (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2 2003. Oxford: Update Software
http://www.update-software.com/abstracts/ab002853.htm
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