Skip to main content

Or 34,00 After 66% tax deduction

I make a monthly donation I make an IFI donation
Research, science & health

Coffee to treat a form of dyskinesia

Published on: 19/04/2022 Reading time: 1 min
image

Dyskinesias are rare diseases characterised by sudden, involuntary movements that can affect the whole body. Two years ago, the team of Prof. Flamand-Roze and Dr. Méneret at the Paris Brain Institute and the neurology department of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital AP-HP published the case of a child suffering from a form of the disease linked to the ADCY5 gene. This young patient was able to return to a normal life thanks to coffee. In a collaborative study, the same team has just confirmed this result by collating data from 30 patients worldwide who were also treated with coffee. 87% of them saw their symptoms improve significantly. This result could, according to the researchers, be explained by the fixation of coffee in the striatum, a deep region of the brain that is crucial for the control of movement. Their discovery, published in the journal Movement Disorders, could pave the way for the development of new treatments for movement disorders.

Dyskinesias are a group of rare disorders characterised by sudden, involuntary movements that can affect the whole body. One of the causes of this condition is a mutation in the ADCY5 gene, which starts mainly in childhood. These abnormal movements are often exacerbated in the form of paroxysmal movement disorders that can occur during the day, but also at night. Despite numerous explorations of the potential benefits of drug treatments, until recently no treatment has been confirmed to be effective in this condition.

Two years ago, a long-standing study by Prof. Emmanuel Flamand-Roze and Dr. Aurélie Méneret highlighted the benefit of caffeine on the symptoms of a child suffering from dyskinesia associated with the ADCY5 gene mutation. In order to confirm these results, the team from the Paris Brain Institute, the neurology department of the Pitié-Salpêtrière AP-HP hospital and Inserm conducted a retrospective study on a worldwide scale. The researchers were able to collect data from 30 patients affected by this rare condition who had consumed or were still consuming coffee for their dyskinesia.

Their results show that, in addition to a good tolerance of caffeine intake, including in children, 87% of patients reported a clear improvement in their motor symptoms. Coffee consumption not only reduced the frequency and duration of paroxysmal movement disorders, but also reduced their baseline movement disorders, as well as other symptoms such as gait, attention and concentration disorders, certain types of pain or hypotonia, with a notable improvement in the patients’ quality of life. This retrospective study thus confirms the potential of caffeine as a first-line treatment in this form of dyskinesia.

The efficacy of coffee can be explained by the fact that caffeine binds to adenosine receptors that modify the function of the dysfonctional protein (ADCY5). The latter is strongly located in the striatum of the brain, which is involved in motor control. Researchers and clinicians at the Paris Brain Institute are currently exploring the interest of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway as a therapeutic target in this disease and more widely in pathologies associated with hyperkinetic movements.

Sources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35384065/
Méneret A, Mohammad SS, Cif L, Doummar D, DeGusmao C, Anheim M, Barth M, Damier P, Demonceau N, Friedman J, Gallea C, Gras D, Gurgel-Giannetti J, Innes EA, Necpál J, Riant F, Sagnes S, Sarret C, Seliverstov Y, Paramanandam V, Shetty K, Tranchant C, Doulazmi M, Vidailhet M, Pringsheim T, Roze E.Mov Disord. 2022 Apr 5.

Our news on the subject

Le développement du cerveau a une part d’aléatoire
The stochastic aspect of brain development
Although every person’s personality is the result of genetic and environmental factors, these are not the only factors at play. Bassem Hassan and his team at Paris Brain Institute have discovered that, in fruit flies (drosophila), individuality also...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Analyse MERSCOPE
New treatment pathways for brain malformation-linked focal epilepsy?
A study by Stéphanie Baulac’s team has revealed somatic mutations in different cell types in patients with type 2 focal cortical dysplasia. This disease causes drug-resistant epileptic seizures, for which the main treatment option is currently...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Un iceberg
The ICEBERG cohort, 10 years of collective scientific and medical mobilization
The ICEBERG cohort, initiated 10 years ago, is interested in studying factors predictive of the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease.
05.15.2025 Research, science & health
La huntingtine est une protéine indispensable au développement embryonnaire, à la formation et au maintien du tissu cérébral.
Huntington's Disease: The Energy Hypothesis Gets Traction
Huntington's disease, a rare hereditary neurological disorder, is associated with an energy deficit that precedes the onset of symptoms and is closely linked to their progression. At Paris Brain Institute, Fanny Mochel and her colleagues are testing...
02.11.2025 Research, science & health
À la recherche de marqueurs d’imagerie dans la démence frontotemporale
Searching for Imaging Markers in Frontotemporal Dementia
Could exploring the relationships between different brain networks help us understand frontotemporal dementia (FTD)? This neurodegenerative disease, which progresses at varying rates, is often diagnosed late—when clinical signs are already severe. At...
01.07.2025 Research, science & health
Monocyte – un globule blanc qui se différencie en macrophage. Crédit : Université d’Edinbourg.
Discovery of a Macrophage Anomaly in Multiple Sclerosis
Certain patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) can partially regenerate myelin—the protective sheath that surrounds nerve fibers—which is damaged during the evolution of the disease. In studying how immune cells influence this remyelination...
12.19.2024 Research, science & health
See all our news