Could coffee offer relief to MS sufferers?

MS is a confounding medical condition that leaves sufferers in extreme pain and suffering from periods of extensive fatigue, but perhaps new research into how coffee could be beneficial to their treatment might help.

One of the main conditions with Multiple Sclerosis is extreme fatigue with at least 70 per cent of sufferers reporting this side effect of the disease. A 2008 report described fatigue as “an extreme exhaustion that occurs suddenly or can be triggered by factors like activity, stress, infections, or digestion.”

At the moment there is no way to treat this medically. However, researchers in Germany at the University of Regensburg Hospital discovered that patients with milder symptoms could concentrate better and have a more structured daily routine if they drank some coffee throughout the day.

“Since coffee showed no severe side effects and in the absence of an effective fatigue therapy, coffee consumption might be a therapeutic approach for selected patients with MS-related fatigue,” the study’s authors wrote. While the study’s results are not conclusive research into the link between coffee and MS continues.