6533b828fe1ef96bd1287985

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Gender-Related Immune-Inflammatory Factors, Age-Related Diseases, and Longevity

Giuseppina Colonna-romanoGiuseppina CandoreCarmela Rita BalistreriCalogero CarusoDomenico LioSonya VastoFlorinda Listì

subject

MaleGerontologyAgingmedia_common.quotation_subjectLongevityDiseasegender inflammation age-related diseases longevityImmune systemAlzheimer DiseaseAnimalsHumansImmunologic FactorsSettore MED/05 - Patologia ClinicaDiseasemedia_commonSettore MED/04 - Patologia GeneraleSex CharacteristicsEstrogen Replacement TherapyLongevitySocial constructionismGender psychologySexual dimorphismImmune SystemFemaleInflammation MediatorsGeriatrics and GerontologyPsychologySex characteristicsHormoneClinical psychology

description

This review discusses the role of estrogens as pro- or antiinflammatory players in immune-inflammatory responses. In particular, their role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an example of immune-inflammatory disease, is discussed briefly. AD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which in Western societies accounts for the majority of cases of clinical senile dementia. However, sexual dimorphism of diseases may also depend on factors independent of sex hormones (i.e., a gender effect), as demonstrated by our data on differential longevity in females and males. In fact, differences in mortality between men and women are not only a question of sex that refers to biological differences, but rather a question of ‘‘socially constructed sex,’’ a question of gender (i.e., the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine). In gender medicine, we conclude that it is important to consider the role played both by hormones, customs, and educational levels regarding the different propensity of males and females to fall ill. So, in programming antiaging strategies, we have also to take these aspects into account

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2010-03-30Rejuvenation Research
https://doi.org/10.1089/rej.2009.0942