Washington, April 17 : A research team including an Indian-origin boffin has found that coffee may be beneficial for men with Lou Gehrig''s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) but for women, it may have the opposite effect.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease that damages key neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The disease causes progressive paralysis of voluntary muscles and often death within five years of symptoms.

Washington, Apr 17 : Laughter is indeed the best form of medicine - because it is good for the heart, says a new study.

In the research, "mirthful laughter" was linked to lower cholesterol and less risk of cardiovascular disease.

Lee Berk, a psychoneuroimmunologist, of Loma Linda University, and Dr. Stanley Tan, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist at Oak Crest Health Research Institute in Loma Linda, examined the effects of mirthful laughter on 20 high-risk diabetic patients with hypertension and hyperlipidemia - an elevation of lipids in the bloodstream.

Washington, April 17 : A new study suggests that the drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction in men may some say also address some forms of female sexual disorders.

Medical College of Georgia researchers Kyan J. Allahdadi, Rita C. Tostes, and R. Clinton Webb say that female sexual dysfunction may partly result from inadequate supply of blood to the female genitals, and that it may be addressed with erectile dysfunction drugs.

Originally developed as therapy for hypertension, such drugs work by dilating blood vessels sufficiently to produce erections in males.

London, Apr 17 : Scientists have found that the body comprises a cellular "First Aid" system for brain cells in which certain immune cells in the blood, called regulatory T lymphocytes (Treg), inhibit ischemic stroke-related inflammation.

Dr. Roland Veltkamp, senior physician at the Neurology Clinic of Heidelberg University Hospital, points out that the regulator cytokine interleukin 10 (IL 10) plays an important role in this protection, and that this work offers a new approach to stroke therapy.

London, Apr 17 : In what could be called a miracle, a 38-year-old Brit mum gave birth to healthy twins just minutes after suffering a massive heart failure.

Nina Whear gave birth to twins Evie and Alfie through caesarean section moments after her weeping husband bade her an emotional farewell.

Whear, of Lamas, Norwich, suffered heart failure two weeks before the babies were due on January 6.

Washington, April 17 : Swedish researchers have found that adults use brown fat to convert energy into heat, a finding that may lead to novel treatments for overweight and obesity.

Sven Enerback, Professor at the Institute of Biomedicine at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, points out that the brown fat found in infants is traditionally believed to disappear as a person grows up.

However, the researcher insists, the new study has shown the presence of brown fat cells in the lower part of the neck in adults, just above their collarbones.

During the study, the researchers tested the region of brown fat cells in the neck by placing five volunteers, in thin clothing, in a chilly room for a couple of hours.