Caffeine could have positive effects on movement control for people with Parkinson's disease, according to a small new study in the journal Neurology. Study participants given caffeine scored better on tests for movement than people who were given a placebo, the McGill University researchers found. "Although the results do not suggest that caffeine should be used as a treatment in Parkinson's disease, they can be taken into consideration when people with Parkinson's are discussing their caffeine use with their neurologist," Dr. Michael Schwarzschild, M.D., Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, who wrote an editorial that accompanied the new study, said in a statement. The researchers split up 61 people with Parkinson's disease into two groups. One group took a placebo pill, while the other took a 100 milligram caffeine pill twice a day for a three-week period, then a 200 milligram caffeine pill twice a day for a three-week period. (The amount of caffeine in the pills was the same as about two to four cups of coffee.) After the six weeks, the researchers had all of the study participants take a test for the severity of their disease. The people who took the caffeine pills scored five points better on the test than those who took the placebo.
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