London, April 4: Regular intake of coffee or caffeine by patients with Alzheimer's disease may deteriorate their neuropsychiatric symptoms, including but not limited to anxiety, say researchers.

 While it is well known that memory problems are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, this dementia is also characterized by neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, apathy, depression, hallucinations, paranoid, sundowning and more known as  Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) which may be strongly present already in the first stages of the disorder.

The results indicate that caffeine worsened these symptoms in mice with Alzheimer's.

The researchers also discovered significant effects, especially in relation to neophobia -- a fear of everything new -- anxiety-related behaviours, and emotional and cognitive flexibility.

"The mice develop Alzheimer's disease in a very close manner to the human patients with early-onset form of the disease," said lead author Raquel Baeta-Corral from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain.

"They not only exhibit the typical cognitive problems but also a number of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)-like symptoms, so it is a valuable model to address whether the benefits of caffeine will be able to compensate its putative negative effects."

For the study, the team analyzed the effect of caffeine on normal ageing mice and familial Alzheimer’s models.

However, coffee has also been suggested as a strategy to prevent dementia, both in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in normal ageing processes, due to its action in blocking molecules - adenosine receptors - which may cause dysfunctions and diseases in old age.

But "our observations of adverse caffeine effects in an Alzheimer's disease model together with previous clinical observations suggest that an exacerbation of BPSD-like symptoms may partly interfere with the beneficial cognitive effects of caffeine", the researchers said.

 

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Visakhapatnam, Apr 13 (PTI): Eight people, including two women, were killed and seven others injured in a fire accident at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Anakapalli district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident.

“Eight people including two women died and seven others were injured in the fire accident,” Home Minister V Anitha told PTI.

The injured are being shifted to hospitals here, she said adding details are awaited.

The CM directed Anitha and district officials to ensure better medical care to the injured, an official release said.