Irish coffee cure

A study with rats shows that an alcohol-caffeine cocktail after a stroke can protect the brain.

By Alex Salkever

Oct 13, 1999 | You are twitching, your vision is blurred and you can't move the right side of your body. In other words, you are suffering an ischemic stroke - a blockage of an artery that normally brings blood to a portion of your brain. You could die or suffer significant brain damage as your brain cells starve for oxygen.

When they haul you into the ER, the doctor runs a few tests and sticks a needle in your arm. In the needle is an unlikely potion - the chemical equivalent of four cups of coffee and a nice glass of toasty red wine. That's right, they are shooting you up with caffeine and alcohol.

Sound implausible? Not entirely, according to a University of Texas stroke research team from the Houston Medical School. The team, led by neurologist Dr. James Grotta, found that a mellow mix of caffeine and ethanol (alcohol) cut the damage to brain cells of laboratory rats as a result of stroke by more than 70 percent in some cases.

There are enough similarities between the biochemistry of rat brains and people brains to merit serious consideration of this counterintuitive remedy. According to their research, to be published in the scientific journal Neuropharmacology, this cheap and easy mixture regularly bested damage control efforts of more expensive and more dangerous pharmaceuticals. "It was the most powerful substance we tested in our laboratory," says Dr. Jarek Aronowski, a neuroscientist who is part of the research team. "It was amazing how robust our findings were."

Should we all carry a flask and a thermos of joe just in case? That's probably premature for now, as Grotta and Aronowski themselves say. But should alcohol and caffeine turn out to be effective in humans, it could be a big deal. Here's why. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. -- 3.3 million Americans may suffer strokes each year and nearly 160,000 of them die. The after-effects of strokes cost tens of billions in medical care and lost wages each year and leave tens of thousands of Americans with impairments of speech, motor skills and other essential life functions. Strokes are becoming more common as more Americans age; strokes are likeliest in the elderly and people 55 years of age and greater suffer two-thirds of strokes. In other words, strokes are a major public health problem destined to grow even worse.

Next Page: No one is suggesting that ERs start stocking wet bars with rum and cokes

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