Grab a cup of coffee and check out these two recent reports about Parkinson's disease. The good news is that if you can smell the coffee, you are probably doing fine at the moment. The bad news is drinking the coffee is not going to relieve symptoms of existing Parkinson's disease.

Deficits in olfaction, the ability to accurately smell, have long been associated with Parkinson's disease. The decrease in sensitivity in olfaction is one of the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease.

What was recently recognized is that the association is stronger for white adults compared to black adults and stronger in men than women. The sense of smell was measured using a 12-item test: the Brief Smell Identification Test.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, followed 1,510 white males and 952 black males with an average age of 75 years and looked at data approximately 10 years later. Researchers found the smell test was associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease and the risk was greater for the white males.

Reductions in sensitivity to smell are not only associated with Parkinson's disease but are also associated with Alzheimer's disease. The sense of smell is impacted before signs of dementia in Alzheimer's disease and before motor problems in Parkinson's disease.

Thus, identifying smell deficits may lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment. There is brain imaging technology under development to better evaluate the neuroprocessing of smell.

The odors of fish, coffee and peppermint are among the most recognized odors even with dementia. It has been suggested that primary care clinicians keep a container of ground coffee beans available as a quick means to screen for decreased sense of smell.

Speaking of coffee, its smell may be invigorating, but the reports of coffee having medical benefits are mixed. Researchers have found a link between increased caffeine/coffee consumption related to a decrease in risk for Alzheimer's disease. This same association is showing conflicting reports with Parkinson's disease.

A new study looked at caffeine, coffee and Parkinson's disease risk in 121,701 female participants from the Nurses' Health Study and 51,529 males from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The researchers found that an increase in caffeine was associated with a reduction in Parkinson's disease risk in men and women, but only if there had never been a use of post-menopausal hormones.

Another study, reported earlier this month, found that using caffeine after a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease did little to improve symptoms. Researchers looked at 120 adults with Parkinson's disease, one group who used the caffeine equivalent of three cups a day and another group who used a placebo. There were no improvements of motor symptoms or quality of life in the caffeine group compared to the placebo.

Bottom line: Smell the coffee and enjoy the moment while your memory is intact and your body responds as commanded.