GenderBiology.net

Language Performance And Differences In Brain Activity Possibly Affected By Sex

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  January 30, 2009

EXCERPT:  "In a new MRI study .... researchers found differences among male and female groups on activation strength linked to verbal fluency (words generation)."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Gauthier CT, Duyme M, Zanca M, Capron C. Sex and performance level effects on brain activation during a verbal fluency task: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Cortex. 2009 Feb;45(2):164-76.

Alcoholism: What you might not know

SOURCE:  CNNhealth.com

DATE:  January 30, 2009

EXCEPTS:  " A recent survey of alcoholism studies in the Lancet suggests that men have more than a 20 percent lifetime risk of developing alcohol-use disorders, while women's risk is 8 to 10 percent.  Much of that risk is inherited. Studies show that as much as 60 percent of the risk of alcohol-use disorders is genetic  ... Why is the risk so much greater in men than women? ....   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Schuckit MA. Alcohol-use disorders. Lancet. 2009 Jan 23.

Researchers May Have Found Why Women Have An Edge On Salt-Sensitive Hypertension

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  January 29, 2009

EXCERPT: "Researchers may have found why women have an edge in keeping a healthier balance between the amount of salt they eat and excrete - at least before reaching menopause.

Premenopausal women are known to have fewer problems with salt-sensitive hypertension and hypertension in general, but afterward their risks are essentially the same as men, says Dr. David Pollock, renal physiologist in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia.

The reason appears to be related to female hormones and a new-found role of a cell receptor previously thought to be only harmful, he and colleagues report in the February issue of Hypertension."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Nakano D, Pollock DM. Contribution of endothelin A receptors in endothelin 1-dependent natriuresis in female rats. Hypertension. 2009 Feb;53(2):324-30. Epub 2008 Dec 22.

San Francisco City Attorney Files Lawsuit Against State Over 'Gender Ratings' for Individual Health Plans

SOURCE: Kaisernetwork.org -- Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

DATE:  January 29, 2009

EXCERPT: "San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the state of California alleging that the state is discriminating against women by allowing health insurers to impose so-called "gender ratings" when determining premiums for individual health plans.  .... "  more

New Study: Higher DHA Levels Improve Neurodevelopmental Outcomes In Premature Girls

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  January 27, 2009

EXCERPT: "Tripling the level of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the early diet of some of the smallest infants born prematurely improved the neurodevelopment outcome of girls, ...  DHA is an important nutrient for brain, eye and overall infant development that is normally found in mother's milk and, in recent years, in infant formulas.  ....   However, the same benefit was not found in the male infants,  ...  The reason for the gender difference is unclear."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Makrides M, Gibson RA, McPhee AJ, Collins CT, Davis PG, Doyle LW, Simmer K, Colditz PB, Morris S, Smithers LG, Willson K, Ryan P. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants fed high-dose docosahexaenoic acid: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2009 Jan 14;301(2):175-82.

Prolonged Loop Diuretic Use Modestly Boosts Fracture Risk for Women

SOURCE: MedPage Today

DATE:  January 26, 2009

EXCERPT:  "Long-term use of loop diuretics may increase fracture risk among postmenopausal women ....  Women who used loop diuretics for more than three years had a significant 16% increased risk of fractures overall and of clinical fractures other than the hip or spine ....  The findings might not be generalizable to thiazide-type diuretics -- which stimulate renal tubular calcium reabsorption and have been associated with lower fracture risk -- or to populations with lower calcium intakes, those primarily being treated with loop diuretics, or men, .... "   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Carbone LD, Johnson KC, Bush AJ, Robbins J, Larson JC, Thomas A, LaCroix AZ. Loop diuretic use and fracture in postmenopausal women: findings from the Women's Health Initiative. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Jan 26;169(2):132-40.  Full text

Darkness, Melatonin May Stall Breast and Prostate Cancers

SOURCE: Science News - Web Edition

DATE: January 23, 2009

EXCERPT: "To stay healthy, the body needs its zzz’s. But independent of slumber, human health also appears to require plenty of darkness — especially at night. Or so suggests a pair of new cancer studies.

One found that among postmenopausal women, the lower the overnight production of melatonin — a brain hormone secreted at night, especially during darkness — the higher the incidence of breast cancer. The second study correlated elevated prostate cancer incidence around the world with places that have the brightest signatures of light in satellite imagery.

Trends seen in both studies bolster animal data indicating that natural nighttime peaks in blood concentrations of melatonin, which tend to occur during sleep, depress the growth of the hormonally sensitive cancers.

Light will depress the body’s natural secretion of that hormone, whether someone is awake or asleep."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINKS:

Schernhammer ES, Hankinson SE. Urinary melatonin levels and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the nurses' health study cohort. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Jan;18(1):74-9.
 
Viswanathan AN, Schernhammer ES. Circulating melatonin and the risk of breast and endometrial cancer in women. Cancer Lett. 2008 Dec 11.

Blask DE. Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk. Sleep Med Rev. 2008 Dec 16.

RELATED LINKS:

Brown DL, Feskanich D, Sánchez BN, Rexrode KM, Schernhammer ES, Lisabeth LD. Rotating Night Shift Work and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Apr 8.

Blask DE, Dauchy RT, Sauer LA. Putting cancer to sleep at night: the neuroendocrine/circadian melatonin signal. Endocrine. 2005 Jul;27(2):179-88. Review.

Blask DE, Dauchy RT, Sauer LA, Krause JA, Brainard GC. Light during darkness, melatonin suppression and cancer progression. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002 Jul;23 Suppl 2:52-6. Review.

Clinton SM, Bedrosian TA, Abraham AD, Watson SJ, Akil H.  Neural and environmental factors impacting maternal behavior differences in high- versus low-novelty-seeking rats. Horm Behav. 2010 Apr;57(4-5):463-73.

Dopfel RP, Schulmeister K, Schernhammer ES.Nutritional and lifestyle correlates of the cancer-protective hormone melatonin. Cancer Detect Prev. 2007;31(2):140-8. Epub 2007 Apr 6. Review.

Feskanich D, Hankinson SE, Schernhammer ES. Nightshift work and fracture risk: the Nurses' Health Study. Osteoporos Int. 2008 Sep 3.

Jasser SA, Blask DE, Brainard GC. Light during darkness and cancer: relationships in circadian photoreception and tumor biology. Cancer Causes Control. 2006 May;17(4):515-23. Review.

Hrushesky WJ, Blask DE. Re: Melatonin and breast cancer: a prospective study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004 Jun 2;96(11):888-9.

Schernhammer ES, Berrino F, Krogh V, Secreto G, Micheli A, Venturelli E, Sieri S, Sempos CT, Cavalleri A, Schünemann HJ, Strano S, Muti P. Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008 Jun 18;100(12):898-905.

Stevens RG, Blask DE, Brainard GC, Hansen J, Lockley SW, Provencio I, Rea MS, Reinlib L. Meeting report: the role of environmental lighting and circadian disruption in cancer and other diseases. Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Sep;115(9):1357-62.

Viswanathan AN, Hankinson SE, Schernhammer ES. Night shift work and the risk of endometrial cancer. Cancer Res. 2007 Nov 1;67(21):10618-22.

NOTES:

For more related articles, search PubMed for "Blask DE AND melatonin" or just "Blask DE" for more publications on melatonin and cancer and other health risks.

Richard Stevens, University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington,originated the 1987 hypothesis linking melatonin suppression with cancer.  Search "Stevens RG" in PubMed for related works by Stevens.

New research on the brain suggests that women unconsciously have a tougher time resisting their favorite foods than men do.

SOURCE:  MedlinePlus.gov -- HealthDay

DATE: January 20, 2009

EXCERPT:  " New research on the brain suggests that women unconsciously have a tougher time resisting their favorite foods than men do.   .... The researchers found [via PET scans] that certain areas of the brain became more active in both the men and women when they were tempted with food. The brain areas that lit up control emotions such as motivation.  Also, both men and women succeeded in making themselves feel less hungry by inhibiting their desire to eat the food. But the brain scans suggested that the women's brains were still acting as if they were hungry. ....  Hormones could play a factor in women  .... more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Wang GJ, Volkow ND, Telang F, Jayne M, Ma Y, Pradhan K, Zhu W, Wong CT, Thanos PK, Geliebter A, Biegon A, Fowler JS. Evidence of gender differences in the ability to inhibit brain activation elicited by food stimulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jan 27;106(4):1249-54.    Free article 

SEE ALSO:

From R&D Daily. Advantage Business Media. Source: Brookhaven National Lab. Brain imaging explains hunger pangs of men and women.

An original story and video is available here, http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=876

Earlier studies on the neurobiology of eating disorders and obesity at Brookhaven Lab have:

• identified brain circuits that may cause the obese to overeat

• shown that levels of dopamine receptors, which receive chemical messages of well being and reward in the brain, are decreased in the brains of obese individuals

• demonstrated that parts of the brain responsible for sensation in the tongue, mouth, and lips are more active in the obese

• revealed that the mere sight and smell of favorite foods spikes levels of dopamine in the brains of food-deprived people - just as it spikes this pleasure chemical in the brains of those with drug addictions in response to their drug of choice

Women may be more likely to experience EMS delays for heart care

SOURCE: American Heart Association

DATE:  January 14, 2009

EXCERPT: "Women who called 9-1-1 complaining of cardiac symptoms were 52 percent more likely than men to experience delays during emergency medical services' (EMS) care, according to a report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes."   more

RELATED LINK:

Joseph P. Ornato. Gender Delay in Emergency Medical Services: Does it Really Exist? [editorial] Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2009;2:4-5.

Gender Difference In Severity Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  January 14, 2009

EXCERPT: "Women appear to suffer more from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than men."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Sokka T, Toloza S, Cutolo M, Kautiainen H, Makinen H, Gogus F, Skakic V, Badsha H, Peets T, Baranauskaite A, Géher P, Ujfalussy I, Skopouli FN, Mavrommati M, Alten R, Pohl C, Sibilia J, Stancati A, Salaffi F, Romanowski W, Zarowny-Wierzbinska D, Henrohn D, Bresnihan B, Minnock P, Knudsen LS, Jacobs JW, Calvo-Alen J, Lazovskis J, Pinheiro GD, Karateev D, Andersone D, Rexhepi S, Yazici Y, Pincus T; the QUEST-RA Group.  Women, men, and rheumatoid arthritis: analyses of disease activity, disease characteristics, and treatments in the QUEST-RA Study. Arthritis Res Ther. 2009 Jan 14;11(1):R7.