GenderBiology.net

Gene Linked To Lupus Might Explain Gender Difference In Disease Risk

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 31, 2009

EXCERPT: "In an international human genetic study, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a gene linked to the autoimmune disease lupus, and its location on the X chromosome might help explain why females are 10 times more susceptible to the disease than males."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Jacob CO, Zhu J, Armstrong DL, Yan M, Han J, Zhou XJ, Thomas JA, Reiff A, Myones BL, Ojwang JO, Kaufman KM, Klein-Gitelman M, McCurdy D, Wagner-Weiner L, Silverman E, Ziegler J, Kelly JA, Merrill JT, Harley JB, Ramsey-Goldman R, Vila LM, Bae SC, Vyse TJ, Gilkeson GS, Gaffney PM, Moser KL, Langefeld CD, Zidovetzki R, Mohan C. Identification of IRAK1 as a risk gene with critical role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 27. [Epub ahead of print]

 

Stress Cardiomyopathy Can Occur with Routine Procedures

SOURCE: MedPage Today

DATE: March 25, 3009

EXCERPT: "Stress cardiomyopathy, the so-called broken heart syndrome, can be precipitated by even routine procedures that involve catecholamines and beta-receptor agonists, ...    The findings from this case series provide evidence that the effect of sudden, extreme emotional or physical stress on the heart is causally mediated by excessive sympathetic stimulation, the researchers said. The syndrome causes profound, but reversible cardiac dysfunction that feels and looks much like a heart attack.

The characteristic clinical features include mild cardiac enzyme elevation in the absence of obstructive coronary disease, a prolonged QTc interval and diffuse T-wave abnormalities on ECG, ventricular ballooning, and rapid recovery of LV systolic function. 

Patients [in study] were primarily healthy (six of the nine had no cardiovascular risk factors) women (seven of the nine) with an average age of 44. 

Occurrence is unlikely to be random, he said. Rather, individuals may be susceptible to catecholamine-mediated myocardial dysfunction because of sex hormones and genetic variability in myocardial signal transduction pathways."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Source reference:

Abraham TP, Liang HY. Stress echocardiography: diastole to the rescue. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Feb 24;53(8):706-8. No abstract available.

SEE ALSO

News release  Study Explores Link Between Emotional Stress and Cardiac Dysfunction 

Source reference:

Wittstein IS, Thiemann DR, Lima JA, Baughman KL, Schulman SP, Gerstenblith G, Wu KC, Rade JJ, Bivalacqua TJ, Champion HC. Neurohumoral features of myocardial stunning due to sudden emotional stress. N Engl J Med. 2005 Feb 10;352(6):539-48.

Exposure To Insecticide May Play Role In Obesity Epidemic Among Some Women

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 21, 2009

EXCERPT: "Prenatal exposure to an insecticide commonly used up until the 1970s may play a role in the obesity epidemic in women, ...."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Karmaus W, Osuch JR, Eneli I, Mudd LM, Zhang J, Mikucki D, Haan P, Davis S. Maternal levels of dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) may increase weight and body mass index in adult female offspring. Occup Environ Med. 2009 Mar;66(3):143-9. Epub 2008 Dec 5.

Men and Women Get Different Benefits from Daily Aspirin

SOURCE: MedPage Today

DATE:  March 16, 2009

EXCERPT: "The benefit of daily aspirin appears to differ by gender -- for men it means fewer heart attacks, but in women it reduces the risk of stroke, .."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINKS:

Primary:

US Preventive Services Task Force. Aspirin for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Mar 17;150(6):396-404.

Also:

Steinhubl SR, Bhatt DL, Brennan DM, Montalescot G, Hankey GJ, Eikelboom JW, Berger PB, Topol EJ; CHARISMA Investigators. Aspirin to prevent cardiovascular disease: the association of aspirin dose and clopidogrel with thrombosis and bleeding. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Mar 17;150(6):379-86.

Mehta SR. Aspirin for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Mar 17;150(6):414-6. No abstract available. 

Those Who Harbor Anger And Hostility At Greater Risk Of Heart Disease, Especially Men

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 10, 2009

EXCERPT:  "Anger and hostility are significantly associated with both a higher risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) in healthy individuals and poorer outcomes in patients with existing heart disease ....  CHD events in healthy people was greater in men than women  [suggetsing] .... that the accumulation of stress responses in daily life might have a greater impact on future CHD in men."  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Denollet J, Pedersen SS. Anger, depression, and anxiety in cardiac patients: the complexity of individual differences in psychological risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2009 Mar 17;53(11):947-9. No abstract available.

Women More Vulnerable To Cigarette Harm

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 9, 2009

EXCERPT: "Studies of twins have revealed significant genetic differences between men and women who smoke who develop lung disease. According to Swedish researchers, women are more susceptible to the consequences of smoking than men."   more

RELATED LINK:

Svartengren M, et al. Twin Studies of interaction between smoking and genetic factors in the development of chronic bronchitis [Abstract]. The genetics of lung disease [panel]. Biochemical Society Focused Meeting. Loughborough, UK.(5 March, 2009) [Proceedings to be published in Biochemical Society Transactions].

Obesity Associated With Worsening Cognitive Function In Older Men

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 9, 2009

EXCERPT: "Older men with higher levels of fat appear more likely to experience declines in cognitive function over seven years, but the same association does not appear to occur in older women.

....

"Women show trends toward inverse associations, with higher levels of adiposity being associated with less cognitive change," the authors write. "Traditional metabolic factors, adipocytokines [compounds produced by fat tissue] and sex hormones do not explain this sex difference. Future studies should confirm these longitudinal associations with adiposity and cognitive change and investigate why adiposity has inverse associations in men and women.""   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Kanaya AM, Lindquist K, Harris TB, Launer L, Rosano C, Satterfield S, Yaffe k; Health ABC Study.  Total and regional adiposity and cognitive change in older adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition (ABC) study.Arch Neurol. 2009 Mar;66(3):329-35.

Combination of Genes and Prenatal Exposure to Smoking Increases Teens’ Risk of Disruptive Behavior

SOURCE: National Institute of Health (NIH) News

DATE:  March 4, 2009

EXCERPT: "A team of researchers led by the Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, identified a long-lasting influence on behavior of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene variant following tobacco exposure before birth. MAOA is an enzyme which regulates key neurotransmitters[*], or chemical messengers in the brain. Strikingly, the genetic variant that confers this increased risk differs between boys and girls.

...

In boys, with the low-activity MAOA (MAOA-L) gene variant, exposure to prenatal smoking was associated with increased disruptive social interactions, including aggressive behaviors and serious rule-violating. "Low activity" means that the gene produces less of its product, the enzyme monamine oxidase A. In contrast, exposure to prenatal smoking was associated with increased disruptive behavior in girls who had the high-activity MAOA (MAOA-H) variant."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Wakschlag LS, Kistner EO, Pine DS, Biesecker G, Pickett KE, Skol AD, Dukic V, Blair RJ, Leventhal BL, Cox NJ, Burns JL, Kasza KE, Wright RJ, Cook EH Jr. Interaction of prenatal exposure to cigarettes and MAOA genotype in pathways to youth antisocial behavior. Mol Psychiatry. 2009 Mar 3.

Fat Storage Depends On Gender

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  March 3, 2009

EXCERPT:  "It's a paradox that has flummoxed women for generations - their apparent ability to store fat more efficiently than men, despite eating proportionally fewer calories.  While it has long been suspected that female sex hormones are responsible, a University of New South Wales (UNSW) research review has for the first time drawn a link between one hormone - oestrogen - and its impact on fat storage for childbearing.  On average, women have 6 to 11 percent more body fat than men. Studies show oestrogen reduces a woman's ability to burn energy after eating, resulting in more fat being stored around the body."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

O'Sullivan AJ. Does oestrogen allow women to store fat more efficiently? A biological advantage for fertility and gestation. Obes Rev. 2009 Mar;10(2):168-77. Epub 2008 Oct 23.