Coffee could help beat MS

A strong cup of coffee may do more than just wake you up in the mornings. It could also help you stave off multiple sclerosis, according to a new study.

Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation found that mice immunized to develop an MS-like condition appeared to be protected from the disease by drinking the equivalent of six to eight cups of coffee a day.

Caffeine prevented adenosine, one of the four building blocks in DNA, from mixing with its receptor in mice.

Adenosine is common molecule in humans and plays a large role in helping to control the biochemical processes for sleep and suppressing arousal.

When the molecule is blocked from binding with its receptor, the body's infection-fighting white cells cannot reach the central nervous system and trigger the reactions that lead to experimental auto-immune encephalomyelitis, or EAE, the animal form of MS.

The findings could have important implications for other auto-immune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body's own defence systems turn against itself.

AFP