scholarly journals Why Individuals Respond To COVID-19 Differently: A Battle of Sexes?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 459-466
Author(s):  
Olagunju Abdulrahmon A. ◽  
Amanah Lewis-Wade

Several factors including genetic variations, cytokine storm (CS), macrophage activated syndrome (MAS), and lymphopenia have been recently discovered to influence the severity of COVID-19. Many studies have exclusively studied the pathogenesis of this disease, which includes the entry of the virus into the body, multiplication and spread, the progression of tissue damage, and the production of an immune response. However, questions like what makes some people more vulnerable than others to SARS-CoV-2 - the causative agent of the coronavirus disease; the role of gene networks in determining or influencing the efficiency of infection or the severity of COVID-19 symptoms are still in the valley of obscurity. What makes some SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals extremely sensitive to the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) while others are asymptomatic remains to be understood. Herein, we review the impact of a genetic variant in susceptibility and severity among sex and gender disparities, the significance of this variation in cases of severity and immune responses. Furthermore, we address major characteristics in severe  COVID-19 cases, such as biochemical and homeostatic effects. For example, lymphocyte count and concentrations of inflammatory mediators within patients. Also, this paper identifies key clinical indicators of severe infections in the presence of cytokine storm and lymphopenia. Moreover, it takes into account predisposing factors that induce the severity of symptoms and underline the differences between mild and severe infections. Lastly, we explained the benefits of using bioinformatics to accelerate the progress made in COVID-19 research and future perspective in this research area.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney Linsenmeyer ◽  
Jennifer Waters

AbstractA sex- and gender-informed approach to study design, analysis and reporting has particular relevance to the transgender and gender nonconforming population (TGNC) where sex and gender identity differ. Notable research gaps persist related to dietary intake, validity and reliability of nutrition assessment methods, and nutrition interventions with TGNC populations. This is due in part to the conflation of sex and gender into one binary category (male or female) in many nutrition surveillance programs worldwide. Adoption of the Sex and Gender Equity In Research (SAGER) guidelines and the two-step method of querying sex and gender has the potential to exponentially increase the body of research related to TGNC health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5808
Author(s):  
Annalisa Giandalia ◽  
Alfio Edoardo Giuffrida ◽  
Guido Gembillo ◽  
Domenico Cucinotta ◽  
Giovanni Squadrito ◽  
...  

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most serious complications of both type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Current guidelines recommend a personalized approach in order to reduce the burden of DM and its complications. Recognizing sex and gender- differences in medicine is considered one of the first steps toward personalized medicine, but the gender issue in DM has been scarcely explored so far. Gender differences have been reported in the incidence and the prevalence of DKD, in its phenotypes and clinical manifestations, as well as in several risk factors, with a different impact in the two genders. Hormonal factors, especially estrogen loss, play a significant role in explaining these differences. Additionally, the impact of sex chromosomes as well as the influence of gene–sex interactions with several susceptibility genes for DKD have been investigated. In spite of the increasing evidence that sex and gender should be included in the evaluation of DKD, several open issues remain uncovered, including the potentially different effects of newly recommended drugs, such as SGLT2i and GLP1Ras. This narrative review explored current evidence on sex/gender differences in DKD, taking into account hormonal, genetic and clinical factors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 941-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saralyn Mark ◽  
Graham B.I. Scott ◽  
Dorit B. Donoviel ◽  
Lauren B. Leveton ◽  
Erin Mahoney ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 787-788
Author(s):  
Claire Horn

AbstractIn this short response, I agree with Cavaliere’s recent invitation to consider ectogenesis, the process of gestation occurring outside the body, as a political perspective and provocation to building a world in which reproductive and care labour are more justly distributed. But I argue that much of the literature Cavaliere addresses in which scholars argue that artificial wombs may produce greater gender equality has the limitation of taking a fixed, binary and biological approach to sex and gender. I argue that in taking steps toward the possibility of more just practices of caregiving and family making, we must look first not to artificial womb technologies but to addressing the ways that contemporary legal and social practices that enforce essentialising, binary ways of thinking about reproductive bodies inhibit this goal.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-391
Author(s):  
Petra Jonvallen

This article examines how sex differentiation is invoked from body fat with a focus on how various monitoring devices participate in the construction of bodies. By using the concept of ‘local biologies’, denoting the linkage of the body to place with its local physical and social conditions, it argues against the ‘one-size-fits-all’ paradigm of modern medicine and critiques the mechanistic search for regularity in medical research. By looking at medical literature on obesity and how contemporary obesity researchers and clinicians link body fat to sex, local biologies of bodies in a Swedish obesity clinic are contrasted to the universal biologies represented in medical research. The article also provides empirical examples of how fat has the potential to undermine traditional sex and gender binaries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Göttgens ◽  
Angelika D. van Halteren ◽  
Nienke M. de Vries ◽  
Marjan J. Meinders ◽  
Yoav Ben-Shlomo ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 247028972094187
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Marsella ◽  
Katherine M. Sharkey

Over the past 3 decades, significant strides have been made in the field of sleep medicine for women. The impact of sex and gender on sleep health and sleep disorders received little attention in the early 1990s, but driven by policies ensuring inclusion of women in medical research, more recent studies have identified sex differences in sleep and investigated gender differences in sleep disorders. Nevertheless, disparities remain: diagnosis of sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder are often delayed and underdiagnosed in women. Future research should continue to examine how biological sex and identity across the gender spectrum influence sleep health and sleep disorders, allowing for more personalized health care for all patients.


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