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Caffeine might prevent MS

WellnessFoodsOnline.com

MS prevention may be just a cup of coffee away

Caffeine may help prevent multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease affecting about 400,000 people in the U.S., according to a new animal study by researchers at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the study, a daily dose of caffeine, equivalent to the amount in six to eight cups of coffee, prevented mice from developing a condition similar to human MS. Lead researcher Linda Thompson explains caffeine prevents adenosine, one of the four building blocks of DNA, from binding to the adenosine receptor, a maneuver that is necessary for T-cells to reach the central nervous system and cause the animal version of MS.

For more information, visit www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/01/health/webmd/main4222319.shtml?source=RSSattr=Health_4222319.