Male Versus Female

"Man from Mars,Women from Venus" sounds familiar? This genders different also not left out
in medical field as discovered by researchers recently ...that makes us individuals and unique living creatures...Here is the article I extracted and summarized from Reader's Digest of July 2009 issue...dedicated specially to my husband...

Into Our Future

Women live longer than men, so many diseases of old age, such as dementia, are viewed as largely female problems. But it's not just old age causing dementia in women. Some studies link dementia with oestrogen. Other work has shown a cognitive decline after menopause due to sex-based differences in the way the brain ages.

Sex differences have implications for the care of older people. Women are more likely to be looking after others as they age. By the time they need care themselves, many will be widowed and living alone. ( Professor Julie Byles, Director of Research Centre for Gender Health and Ageing, Newcastle University).

Men, on the other hand, tend to become more isolated. They're more likely to continue driving but may struggle if they have to cook and look after the house themselves.

It is important that services are designed with an understanding of the differences for men and women (Professor Byles).

Did You Say That Hurt?

Women have a higher pain threshold than men because they have the babies, right? Well, not really.

Men and women experience pain differently - and they respond to pain relief differently, too. Men's blood pressure (BP) rises when they're in pain; women's heart rate increases but their BP remains stable or may even fall.

Women appear to feel some kinds of pain more keenly. In controlled experiments, when researches apply heat or pressure, women are more likely to find it painful at lower levels than men. It appears women's physiology may be to blame. Hormones can influence how nerves operate, and also how the body's natural pain-relieving agents work.

However, studies show other types of pain are felt more strongly by men, and they get less relief from some pain-relieving opiates.

Pain is poorly managed in hospitals on the whole. The fact that women and men response differently to pain isn't well included in practice .

Young men are under treated for pain as they are considered as wimps. Matter of fact, they are more sensitive to specific types of pain than women. (Dr. Jo Wainer, Director Gender and Medicine Research Unit, Monarsh University).

A Different Prescription

Women bodies differ in things such as body weight, body composition, liver and kidney functions either metabolise or excrete drugs and hormone fluctuation are factors that influence how drugs work in women. This also means women may suffer greater side effects than men. (Debbie Rigby, Vice President Pharmaceutical Society Australia).

Evidence in US found dozens of drugs could potentially cause fatal heart problems in women than men.

A large 2005 study into aspirin reveals that it doesn't protect women from heart attack similarly to men.

It also applies to statins (the cholesterol-lowering"wonder drugs"). In 2004, published research in Journal of the American Medical Association, found statins had no effect on mortality rates of women without cardiovascular disease.

Zoloft ( an antidepressant) is used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has adverse effect on men.

How the Mood Swings

Women have higher rates of depression and willingly admit the conditions. Men, on the other hand, label it as stress (Dr. Kerryn Phelps).

There is a strong body of evidence that male and female brains wired differently which reflect different symptoms of depression. Women, are more likely to suffer hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness), overeat and some anxiety disorders.

The challenge lies to medical staff to identify depression in men and prescribe the right prescription.

Most drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders are stored in body fat which women are prone to suffer the side effects sooner due to the greater body fat percentage.