Sex and Gender Differences in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Challenges for Therapeutic Opportunities

Author:

Bianco Annalisa1,Antonacci Ylenia1,Liguori Maria1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Biomedical Technologies, Bari Unit, 70125 Bari, Italy

Abstract

The term “neurodegenerative diseases” (NDs) identifies a group of heterogeneous diseases characterized by progressive loss of selectively vulnerable populations of neurons, which progressively deteriorates over time, leading to neuronal dysfunction. Protein aggregation and neuronal loss have been considered the most characteristic hallmarks of NDs, but growing evidence confirms that significant dysregulation of innate immune pathways plays a crucial role as well. NDs vary from multiple sclerosis, in which the autoimmune inflammatory component is predominant, to more “classical” NDs, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and spinal muscular atrophy. Of interest, many of the clinical differences reported in NDs seem to be closely linked to sex, which may be justified by the significant changes in immune mechanisms between affected females and males. In this review, we examined some of the most studied NDs by looking at their pathogenic and phenotypical features to highlight sex-related discrepancies, if any, with particular interest in the individuals’ responses to treatment. We believe that pointing out these differences in clinical practice may help achieve more successful precision and personalized care.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis

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