A new study published online in the journal “Nature Medicine”, says Stanford researchers found that in some people caffeine blocks an inflammation pathway which leads to heart disease.
One hundred people were evaluated, including their family and medical histories, and giving blood.
Nucleic acid metabolites float in the bloodstream and can trigger inflammation.
Chronic, low-grade inflammation has been linked to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, dementia, osteoarthritis, certain types of cancer, and even depression.
According to the study’s lead author David Furman, PhD, “More than 90 percent of all non-communicable diseases of aging are associated with chronic inflammation.”
Mark Davis, PhD was a senior author on this study.
He’s the director of the Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation, and Infection. Besides helping to prevent disease, “It’s also well-known that caffeine intake is associated with longevity,” Davis said. “Our findings show that an underlying inflammatory process, which is associated with aging, is not only driving cardiovascular disease but is, in turn, driven by molecular events that we may be able to target and combat.” Target in medical speak often means potentially treatable with drug therapy, which could reap exciting benefits for certain patients.
The inflammatory mechanism researchers found as present in some, but not all participants.
Interestingly, those who were found to have a less active pathway or mechanism tended to consume higher levels of caffeine. Turning to the lab, these scientists soon saw that among older patients who tended to drink more coffee or tea, the inflammatory mechanism was inhibited.
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