Caffeine and Multiple Sclerosis

A study is suggesting that having specific cups of coffee a day could halt the development of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The researchers made this discovery in a study with mice bred to develop an MS-like condition, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE.

Those who were fed the equivalent of six to eight cups of coffee a day, did not develop EAE.The scientists from the U.S. and Finland believe the caffeine affects a molecule called adenosine, which plays a role in sleep and energy production and when the mice were dosed with caffeine, adenosine could not link to a particular receptor on the surface of cells.

This appeared to have an indirect effect on the ability of immune cells to enter the nervous system at a part of the brain called the choroid plexus, and the mice did not develop EAE.

They hope that the finding may prove to be relevant for other autoimmune diseases, in which the body uses the weapons of the immune system against itself, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

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