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Coffee drinking protects against primary late onset blepharospasm
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Coffee drinkers are less likely to develop primary late onset blepharospasm, according to a study by researchers in Italy. The protective effect was inversely proportional to the amount of coffee consumed, the study authors noted.
Giovanni Defazio, MD, and colleagues compared coffee consumption and smoking habits between 166 patients with primary late onset blepharospasm, 228 patients with hemifacial spasm and 187 normal control subjects.
The researchers found no significant association between smoking and the development of blepharospasm.
However, there was a significant association with coffee intake, and the association tended to increase in strength as daily coffee intake increased, with at least one to two cups per day required. In addition, patients who consumed more coffee developed the blepharospasm at later ages, with a 1.7-year delay for each additional cup consumed per day, according to a press release announcing the study findings.
The authors suspect that the caffeine in coffee confers the protective effect, but they could not examine it specifically because of the small number of patients who drink decaffeinated coffee in Italy, the release said.
The authors suggest that caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, which has been proposed as its mechanism for protecting against Parkinson's disease. Also, a protective effect against blepharospasm may be exerted at doses over 120 mg to 240 mg, similar to the doses suggested to protect against Parkinson's disease, according to the release.
The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.