Las neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s they can manifest in many different ways, sometimes somewhat difficult to detect. For this reason, there is an important research effort to find the different symptoms and courses of the disease, and to understand what factors influence them.
Now a new study from the COPPADIS project, promoted by the Movement Disorders Study Group (GETM) of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN) and published in the scientific world Journal of Clinical Medicine has identified important differences between men and women in the course of Parkinson’s, because sex seems to influence the very mechanisms of the disease.
First study in a large cohort
The work analyzes the differences by sex in a large cohort (410 men and 271 women), and as detailed by the researcher Diego Santos, lead author, in a press release, he concludes that “different genetic, hormonal, neuroendocrine and molecular factors seem to be implicated in differences in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease between men and women.Because of this, we already know that the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson’s disease is between 1.5 and 2 times higher in men than in women and that the onset of the disease in women is slightly later than in men”.
The novelty, in this case, is that it analyzes how these same factors determine both motor and non-motor symptomatology of the disease and, consequently, on the quality of life and the daily autonomy of patients.
Thus, the study has found that symptoms such as depression, fatigue and pain they are more frequent and/or severe in women, while symptoms such as hypomimia (decreased facial expression), speech problems, rigidity, and hypersexuality are more common in men.
Greater loss of quality of life in women
Regarding the effect of this on the quality of life, the authors highlight that, especially in the short term, men with Parkinson’s disease show a greater tendency to develop greater disability related to the non-motor symptoms of the disease, while women see their functional ability to perform activities more affected. of daily life. Overall, the perception of loss of quality of life is also generally higher in women.
Another difference that the study shows is that it seems that women receive, in general, lower doses of specific medication for Parkinson’s disease, although adjusting the dose for weight, no differences were observed between both genders. On the contrary, women consume antidepressants, benzodiazepines and analgesics more frequently.
“In our analysis,” says Santos, “we have also detected many other differences between men and women with Parkinson’s disease. For example, that women have more likely to live alone, who have a lower educational level, who consume more drugs for other diseases, or who have a higher risk of suffering from depression (almost double that of men). On the contrary, certain harmful habits (such as smoking and alcohol consumption) are significantly more frequent in men.”
“We think it is important to know all these differences, because we will get better tailor treatmentsbetter predict its results and, in general, improve the care of our patients if the differences that exist in the progression of Parkinson’s disease by sex and the different individual and social needs are taken into account”, he concludes.
References
Santos-García D, Laguna A, Hernández-Vara J, de Deus Fonticoba T, Cores Bartolomé C, Feal Painceiras MJ, Íñiguez-Alvarado MC, García Díaz I, Jesús S, Boungiorno MT, Planellas L, Cosgaya M, García Caldentey J , Caballol N, Legarda I, Cabo I, López Manzanares L, González Aramburu I, Ávila Rivera MA, Gómez Mayordomo V, Nogueira V, Puente V, Dotor García-Soto J, Borrué C, Solano Vila B, Álvarez Sauco M, Vela L, Escalante S, Cubo E, Carrillo Padilla F, Castrillo JCM, Sánchez Alonso P, Alonso Losada MG, López Ariztegui N, Gastón I, Kulisevsky J, Menéndez González M, Seijo M, Rúiz Martínez J, Valero C, Kurtis M, Ardura JG, Alonso Redondo R, Ordás C, López Díaz LM, McAfee D, Martinez-Martin P, Mir P, on behalf of the COPPADIS Study Group. Sex Differences in Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms among Spanish Patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Clinical Medicine (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12041329