Scientists with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have found that when consumed in large amounts, coffee was found to protect against multiple sclerosis. It appears that caffeine blocks key steps in the development of the disease. The stimulant found in coffee blocked a compound called adenosine, which led, in mice, to the protection of brain cells from immune system cells which destroy the protective coating that surrounds the nerve cells, myelin.

The research will be published in the July 8 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, but the results were already presented at the 95th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists in San Diego, which took place in April.

In mid-June, a study carried on at the Autonoma University of Madrid, Spain, found that people who are dinking up to six cups of coffee a day do not have an increase chance of dying compared to people who don’t drink or drink less coffee. Furthermore, if you are a woman, drinking coffee might even diminish the chance of you dying of heart disease. Also, coffee seems to not influence cancer in any way, the Spanish study concluded.

An interesting thing was that both women who drank decaf and normal coffee had the same chance of getting a disease. What this means is that caffeine doesn’t seem to be the substance responsible for these good effects.

Also, in January, another study found that caffeine consumption could have a negative effect on people suffering from type 2 diabetes, raising blood sugar levels and possibly exposing them to other risks, US researchers revealed. The study's conclusions appeared to be in stark contrast with previous research which showed that people who drink more coffee are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid which behaves like a psychoactive stimulant drug. The substance can be found in coffee, hence its name, but also in guarana, mate, and tea. The alkaloid protects these plants and dozens more from most insects.

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune condition which is characterized by the damaging of the central nervous system by the immune system, through demyelination.