The role of gender and organ specific autoimmunity

Sex differences in children with severe health conditions: Causes of admission and mortality in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

“…In children, the effect of severe stress on sex-related survival has only been analyzed for concrete diseases, such as autoimmune and pulmonary pathologies (Nussinovitch and Shoenfeld, 2012;Sheares, 2010). In these cases, boys had higher mortality and worse prognoses.…”

Raynaud’s phenomenon — the clinical picture, treatment and diagnostics

“…Due to the elevated levels of profibrotic factors such as endothelin-1 and angiotensin, the innermost layer of the vessel walls (tunica intima) becomes thicker, which additionally limits vasomotor activity. It has been documented, that the frequency of sudden vasospasms is higher in the pre-ovulation period and during estrogen therapy, which proves the distinct influence of estrogens on the pathogenesis of this process [1,14].…”

Sex-specific prediction of interferon beta therapy response in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

“…It has been postulated that sex differences in the immune response are related to sex hormones which affect cytokine production, T lymphocyte development and differentiation, and might also influence antigen presentation [26]. Moreover, it has been shown that there is a reduction in the rate of MS relapse during pregnancy when estrogen and progesterone are higher, and that the menstrual cycle influences MS symptoms [27][28][29].…”