COFFEE MAY PROTECT AGAINST EYE SPASM

Drinking coffee may help you keep your eyes open...literally. Italian researchers have discovered that drinking one or two cups of coffee a day may help protect against an involuntary eye spasm called primary late onset blepharospasm, the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry reports. Late onset blepharospasm is a disorder in which the eyelid muscles contract uncontrollably. In extreme cases, sufferers are rendered functionally blind because they are unable to prevent their eyes from clamping shut.

The study, led by Professor Giovanni Defazio of the University of Bari, found the effect was proportional to the amount of coffee drank with one to two cups needed for the protective effect. In patients who drank more coffee, the age of onset of the spasm was also later - 1.7 years for each additional cup per day.