Testing the level of caffeine in the blood may provide a simple way to aid the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in an issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study found that people with Parkinson's disease had significantly lower levels of caffeine in their blood than people without the disease, even if they consumed the same amount of caffeine.
"Previous studies have shown a link between caffeine and a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease, but we haven't known much about how caffeine metabolizes within the people with the disease," said study author, MD, Ph.D, of Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. People in the study with more severe stages of the disease did not have lower levels of caffeine in the blood, suggesting that the decrease occurs from the earliest stages of the disease.…
