Could Estrogen Protect Women From COVID-19?
| Autor: | Joseph Onwude, Isaac Manyonda, Vikram Sinai Talaulikar, Roxanna Pirhadi |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Heart disease medicine.drug_class Physiology Review medicine.disease_cause 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Immune system Diabetes mellitus medicine 030212 general & internal medicine Coronavirus Protection business.industry Mortality rate COVID-19 General Medicine medicine.disease Estrogen 030104 developmental biology Middle East respiratory syndrome Infection business Hormone |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Clinical Medicine Research |
| ISSN: | 1918-3011 1918-3003 |
| DOI: | 10.14740/jocmr4303 |
| Popis: | The apparent gender differences in favor of women in the risk of contracting and dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the fact that such trends have also been observed in recent epidemics including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), have prompted the obvious question: Are the reasons life-style or biological? True, women generally make healthier lifestyle choices as compared to men. Women do not smoke or drink as much as men, and they have a lower burden of those diseases (heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung conditions) that are known to be significant factors in the higher death rates among men with COVID-19. But there is compelling evidence for a role for biological factors. Genes are likely to play an important role. The X chromosome, of which women possess two, contains the largest number of immune-related genes of the whole human genome, theoretically giving women double the advantage over men in mounting an efficient and rapid immune response. A fundamental difference between women and men is their hormonal milieu, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the dominant female hormone estrogen could influence the response to infection. In this paper we evaluate the evidence and mechanisms by which estrogen could provide protection to women from a variety of viruses, perhaps including the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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