Caffeine for Motor Manifestations of Parkinson's Disease
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Numerous epidemiological studies have linked lifelong use of caffeine to a lower risk of
Parkinson's disease (PD) - prospective studies have estimated that non-coffee drinkers have
an approximately 1.7-2.5 fold increased risk of developing PD compared to coffee drinkers.
This is an extremely important finding which deserves further more in depth investigations.
The exact pathophysiological mechanism remains elusive, but multiple hypotheses do exist:
Caffeine antagonizes adenosine receptors directly yielding an improvement on motor systems
and even on Levodopa serum concentrations (when on therapy). An additional explanation is
that adenosine antagonism has neuroprotective properties by acting locally on basal ganglia
circuits and the substantia nigra.
The current study aims to identify the optimal caffeine dose with maximal motor benefit and
the least amount of undesirable adverse effects.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Ron Postuma
Collaborator:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Treatments:
Caffeine Central Nervous System Stimulants Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action