Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease with no known cure.

It's an inflammatory disease that damages the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in a wide range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental and sometimes psychiatric problems.

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MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. It's estimated some 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from MS.

Treatments attempt to improve function after an attack and prevent new attacks.

With this chilling prognosis in mind, it's still comforting to know that a simple ever day act such as drinking coffee could reduce the risk of MS.

A new study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC from April 18 to 25 suggests the risk of MS might be reduced by drinking at least four cups of coffee a day.

A number of previous medical studies have suggested that coffee consumption might protect against neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. In this latest study, researchers say coffee might also protect against MS.

The research team analyzed data from two separate population-based case-control studies that looked at the link between coffee consumption and MS. The team was led by study author Dr. Ellen Mowry of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The first study was a Swedish study involving 1,629 people with MS and 2,807 healthy controls. The second was a U.S. study involving 1,159 people with MS and 1,172 healthy controls.

Both studies recorded coffee consumption among people with MS at 1 and 5 years prior to onset of symptoms. The Swedish study also recorded coffee consumption among these participants 10 years before symptoms began.

Coffee intake of those with MS was compared with the healthy controls at similar time points.

In the U.S. study, participants that didn't drink coffee in the year prior to symptom onset were about 1.5 times more likely to develop MS compared to those who consumed at least four cups of coffee a day, said researchers.

The Swedish study revealed participants that didn't drink coffee in the year prior to symptom onset were around 1.5 times more likely to develop MS compared with those who consumed six or more cups of coffee each day.

The researchers also identified a protective effect against MS among participants that drnk large amounts of coffee at 5 and 10 years prior to onset of symptoms.

Researchers believe the protective effect of coffee consumption against MS may be traced to the main ingredient of the beverage -- caffeine.

They reported caffeine has neuroprotective properties and seems to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that might be mechanisms that explain the observed association.

Future research should investigate how coffee consumption affects long-term disability and symptom relapse in patients with MS, said Dr. Mowry.