Probably you know already about some of the effects of caffeine, but it seems there are still benefits to be discovered.

A new study published in the August issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology found that the caffeine may prevent memory loss in older women.

The study, which involved 7000 people, was meant to evaluate cognitive abilities and caffeine consumption in 4-years period.

After examining the data, the researchers concluded that compared to women who drank one cup or less of coffee per day, those who drank over three cups were less likely to show as much decline in memory.

Moreover, the benefits increased with age – coffee drinkers being 30 percent less likely to have memory decline at age 65 and rising to 70 percent less likely over age 80.

“While we have some ideas as to how this works biologically, we need to have a better understanding of how caffeine affects the brain before we can start promoting caffeine intake as a way to reduce cognitive decline. But the results are interesting – caffeine use is already widespread and it has fewer side effects than other treatments for cognitive decline, and it requires a relatively small amount for a beneficial effect.” said study author Karen Ritchie, PhD, of INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, in Montpellier, France.

Also the researchers weren’t able to provide a clear explanation why the effects were observed only in women. A possible cause is a difference in the way the caffeine is metabolized by men.

Ms. Ritchie plans to follow the women longer to see if caffeine delays the onset of dementia - the mental confusion that signals Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders.

“We really need a longer study to look at whether caffeine prevents dementia; it might be that caffeine could slow the dementia process rather than preventing it,” said Ritchie.