GenderBiology.net

Arthritis Forces More Women Out of Work Force

SOURCE:  MedPage Today

DATE:  May 8, 2009

EXCERPT:  " Arthritis is more likely to drive women out of the work force than men, Canadian researchers said.  ... On the other hand, men with arthritis are more likely to perceive they are being discriminated against because of their disability and to undergo changes in their work, according to Simone Kaptein, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Toronto Western Research Institute.  ... The research highlights the need to take sex differences into account when trying to understand how arthritis affects the work force ..."  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Kaptein SA, Gignac MA, Badley EM. Differences in the workforce experiences of women and men with arthritis disability: A population health perspective. Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Apr 29;61(5):605-613.

Link Discovered Between Hot Flashes And Lower Bone Density In Women

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  May 7, 2009

EXCERPT:  "postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) had lower lumbar and total hip bone mineral density than those without VMS. Premenopausal women and early perimenopausal women who had VMS were found to have lower femoral neck bone mineral density than those without VMS."  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Crandall CJ, Zheng Y, Crawford SL, Thurston RC, Gold EB, Johnston JM, Greendale GA. Presence of vasomotor symptoms is associated with lower bone mineral density: a longitudinal analysis. Menopause. 2008 Nov 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Caffeine Appears To Be Beneficial In Males But Not Females With Lou Gehrig's Disease

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  April 18, 2009

EXCERPT: "A new study investigates the role of dietary intervention focused on an antioxidant popular in diets worldwide--coffee. The researchers examined the effect of coffee, caffeine and chlorogenic acid supplementation on markers of oxidative stress, antioxidant enzyme protein content and cell death in male and female mice models of ALS."   more

RELATED LINKS:

Primary source: Experimental Biology 09 -- Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Source reference: Seevaratnam R, Sandeep R,Tarnopolsky MA, and Hamadeh MJ.   Caffeine Reduces Motor Performance and Antioxidant Enzyme Capacity in the Brain of Female G93A Mice, An Animal Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) [Poster D223 963.3]. Part of Poster 963:  Neurodenerative and Neurotoxic Disorders presented at Experimental Biology 09 FASEB 2009 (includes 122nd Annual Meeting of the American Physiological Society); Abstract 963.3 (access abstract via online conference itinerary)

Oral Contraceptives Blunt Women's Muscle Gain

SOURCE: MedPage Today

DATE:   April 17, 2009

EXCERPT:  "Oral contraceptives blunt muscle development in active young women, according to data presented here.

Ten weeks of resistance exercise training resulted in 40% less gain in lean mass among users of oral contraceptive pills than in nonusers, ....  "  more

RELATED LINK:

Primary source: Experimental Biology 09 -- Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Source reference: Lee CW, et al "Oral contraceptive use impairs muscle gains in young women" Presented at Experimental Biology 09 FASEB 2009; Abstract 4197. (access abstract via online conference itinerary when available)

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]

 

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.

Alcoholism increases osteoporosis risk in young men

SOURCE: MedlinePlus -- Reuters Health

DATE:  December 10, 2008

EXCERPT: "Brittle bones are a known consequence of alcoholism, and now new findings suggest that even young men are at risk of developing low bone mass. Surprisingly, a similar risk was not seen in their female counterparts."   more  (article displays for 30 days)

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Malik P, Gasser RW, Kemmler G, Moncayo R, Finkenstedt G, Kurz M, Fleischhacker WW.   Low Bone Mineral Density and Impaired Bone Metabolism in Young Alcoholic Patients Without Liver Cirrhosis: A Cross-Sectional Study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Nov 25.

Risk Of Fractures In Women Doubled By Popular Class Of Diabetes Drugs

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  December 9, 2008

EXCERPT: "New findings .... show that long-term use of a popular class of oral diabetic drugs doubles the risk of fractures in women with type 2 diabetes."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Loke YK, Singh S, Furberg CD. Long-term use of thiazolidinediones and fractures in type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis. CMAJ.2009 Jan 6;180(1):32-9.

Age And Gender Limitations For Hip Resurfacing

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  November 4, 2008

EXCERPT: "Hip resurfacing is often seen as a modern alternative to the more conventional total hip replacement, but new data from a study led by Rush University Medical Center suggest that a patient's age and gender are key to the operation's success.  ... the researchers found that the majority of serious complications occurred in women of all ages and men over the age of 55. The most common complication, and the most serious, was a fracture of the femoral neck, the slender area of bone just beneath the head of the femur."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Della Valle CJ, Nunley RM, Raterman SJ, Barrack RL. Initial American Experience with Hip Resurfacing Following FDA Approval. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2008 Oct 24.

After Wearing A Cast Women Are Slower Than Men To Recover Their Muscle Strength

SOURCE:  Medical News Today

DATE:  September 25, 2008

EXCERPT:  "Researchers examined immobilized volunteers for a period of three weeks. They  determined that while men were able to regain 99% of their strength within a week of removing the cast, women's strength was still 30% lower when compared to before the cast was applied. These finding may have implications for the treatment of fractures based on gender lines.  The study is believed to be the first report of sex-differences in muscle strength restoration following disuse."  more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Clark BC, et al. [Accepted.]  Brief Report. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Clark,BC, et al. 'Restoration of Voluntary Muscle Strength Following 3-Weeks of Cast Immobilization Is Suppressed in Women Compared to Men' [Presentation, ]. The American Physiological Society (APS)  conference, The Integrative Biology of Exercise V, September 24-27, 2008, Hilton Head, SC.

OTHER RELATED LINK:

The American Physiological Society (APS)