Testing of caffeine in the blood may help diagnose Parkinson's disease

A blood test can help determine whether a person is affected. This is a new study of Japanese scientists published on January 3 in the American journal Neurology.

According to scientists at the Medical University in Tokyo, Japan, people with Parkinson's have significantly lower levels of caffeine in their blood than people who don't get sick even when they consume the same amount of caffeine.

The study was conducted for 108 people with Parkinson's disease in about 6 years and 31 people of the same age but not infected.

People with Parkinson's disease have very low levels of caffeine in their blood and 9 out of 11 substances of caffeine in the blood.

The researchers gave the two groups the same amount of caffeine, equivalent to 2 cups of coffee a day, then checked the amount of caffeine and 11 substances that the body made when metabolizing caffeine. Results showed that people with Parkinson's disease had very low levels of caffeine in their blood and appeared 9 out of 11 substances of caffeine in the blood.

The amount of caffeine in people without Parkinson's disease is 79 picomole / 10 microliter, while in people with Parkinson's disease is 24 picomoles / 10 microliters.

Besides, the scientists also examined the variation in genes that could affect caffeine metabolism, but found no difference between the two groups. However, seriously ill people do not have lower caffeine levels in their blood. This suggests that low caffeine levels may only appear in the early stages of the disease.

If the study results are confirmed, it will help open up the possibility of early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, even before the appearance of signs of disease. Research results are important because Parkinson's disease is often difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages.