Saiu na midia, que em famílias que um membro sofra do mal de Parkinson, as pessoas que fumam cigarros e bebem café têm menos chances de desenvolver a doença, segundo pesquisadores da Duke University Medical Center, em matéria publicada pela revista "Archives of Neurology". De acordo com os cientistas, tanto fatores genéticos quanto ambientais podem influenciar o desenvolvimento da patologia. Estudos anteriores já haviam sugerido que fumantes e consumidores de café teriam um risco menor de sofrerem do mal de Parkinson, mas este é o primeiro estudo que analisa especificamente o consumo dessas substâncias nas famílias já afetadas pela doença. Sem excessos "Isso não significa que se deva fumar e beber café em excesso para evitar que se desenvolva o mal de Parkinson", explica Burton Scott, um dos pesquisadores. Os cientistas estudaram as relações entre o fumo, a cafeína e o mal de Parkinson em 356 pacientes e 317 membros de famílias saudáveis. Os pesquisadores concluíram que na metade dos casos do grupo dos pacientes saudáveis, aqueles que desenvolveram a doença beberam menos café e nunca tinham fumado. "Os mecanismos biológicos através dos quais o cigarro e a cafeína influenciam os riscos de desenvolvimento do mal de Parkinson ainda não estão claros. É possível que modifiquem a suscetibilidade genética, mas serão necessários outros estudos para ver como se desenvolve essa interação", especifica Scott. Abaixo o artigo original...
Smoking and caffeine appear to protect against Parkinson's diseaseBy Jonathan M. Gitlin | Published: April 09, 2007 - 03:00PM CT
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves the loss of a specific group of neurons in the substantia nigra that produce dopamine. Sufferers experience a range of symptoms, including a tremor, other motor problems, depression, and cognitive disturbance. The disease itself is not fatal, but involves severe reduction in quality of life and the symptoms can often cause complications such as choking or pneumonia in advanced PD patients.
As an undergraduate sitting in neuropharmacology lectures, I was interested to hear that smoking was inversely correlated with PD; that is, people who smoked were less likely to develop the disease. Whether that link was causative, in that nicotine was neuroprotective for PD, or correlative, in that PD-prone patients had an aversion to nicotine, was not clear. Other research has identified caffeine and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen as possibly having a protective effect.
A new case study published tomorrow in the Archives of Neurology has examined the prevalence of PD, smoking, caffeine, and NSAID usage in 356 patients and 317 of their family members. The study, conducted by a team at Duke University Medical Center, found that although there was no link between PD and NSAID usage, both smoking and caffeine intake were inversely related to PD.
Now, I don't want this to sound like an advert to start smoking; not contracting PD is a little pointless when you drop dead from lung disease or a heart attack, and any neuropharmacological reason for nicotine or caffeine protecting the dopaminergic neurons remains unknown. It is possible that these drugs suppress some genetic component of the disease, but only a great deal of further research will answer that question.
cada um haja como vale a pena para si...afinal cada u sabe onde o sapato aperta....
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