Guzzle Coffee, Prevent Multiple Sclerosis?

For preventing the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, caffeine might be just what the doctor ordered, the Daily Telegraph reports. In a study involving what must have been some very jittery mice, researchers found that the equivalent of 6-8 cups of coffee per day conferred protection from the rodent equivalent of MS. Don't rush off to Starbucks yet, though.

"This is an exciting and unexpected finding, and I think it could be important for the study of MS and other diseases," but "a mouse is not a human being," says the lead researcher. The first step may be an observational study comparing caffeine intake with frequency of MS diagnoses. So far, few mouse-MS results have translated to humans. (More coffee stories.)