- Some surprising research from the US has shown that people with a
family tendency towards Parkinson's Disease are less likely to
develop the disease if they drink coffee.
The research, led by the University of Miami, centered on the
chemical dopamine, which carries messages in the brain. In
Parkinson's sufferers, the levels of the chemical are abnormally
low.

Researches believe that there is a link between dopamine and
caffeine consumption. However, they don't recommend increasing
coffee intake to guard against Parkinson's: the link may be that
people who are more likely to enjoy coffee possess naturally higher
levels of dopamine.

If that's true, coffee lovers could at least comfort themselves with
the thought that they are not high on the list for the very
unpleasant disease later in life.

Sian
22/04/2007(Reuters AlertNet)