MDS 2013

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN YERBA MATE (Ilex paraguaiensis) CONSUMPTION AND RISK OF PARKINSON´S DISEASE. 

 Authors: Emilia M Gatto, Carlos M Melcon, Virginia L Parisi, Leonardo Bartoloni, Tomoko Arakaki, Nelida Garreto, Jose Bueri, Hernan Pavon, Lucía Derosa, Claudio Gonzalez.

Background: Several studies conducted worldwide report an inverse association between caffeine/coffee consumption and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD). Mate is a beverage, widely consumed in several South American countries, particularly Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the southern states of Brazil. It is made from dried leaves of the plant Ilex Paraguariensis (Yerba Mate-YM-). Experimental studies suggests that YM could have a neuroprotective rol in development and progression of PD probably related to the adenosine A2A receptor antagonism related with its xanthine alkaloids content.
Objective:  to establish the association between the risk of PD and YM consumption and quantify its magnitude.

Material and Methods: Case-control study on an individual basis from hospital records. Case was defined as ≥ 40 years old PD individual with ≥ 1 years of disease duration. Other causes of parkinsonism were excluded. Exposure was measure by YM consumption, coffee, tea and alcohol intake and smoking.  Clinical and demographic data were recorded.
Multivariate analysis was performed (conditional logistic regression).
Results: This preliminary analysis included 143 cases and 300 controls. Mean age of PD diagnosis 67.88 years, mean disease duration 6.95 years. Multivariate analysis showed an inverse association between YM consumption and risk of PD: OR 0.68 (IC95% 0.55-0.84) (p=0.00029). The rest of associations were: Tea OR: 0.71 (IC95%:0.47-1.05) and Coffee OR: 0.69 (IC95%:0.46-1.02). All infusions considered together had an OR: 0.71 (IC95%: 0.60-0.84) (p=0.00005). A significant linear trend was observed between levels of exposure to YM and the odds estimates, corresponding to a OR of 0.23 (95%CI: 0.11–0.50) per >1 liters /day increase in YM intake.
Conclusions: Our data confirm an inverse association between mate intake and the risk of PD, with a dose-response relation. This leads us to have the hypothesis that YM could have a potential protecting role in developing PD and further studies in this direction should be investigated.