May Be the Key to Advancing Neuroscience Research
(WASHINGTON, DC; 3/14/02) New research shows that understanding sex differences
in diseased brains may someday lead to medical breakthroughs in the field of
neurologic disorders from schizophrenia to dyslexia. Recently published findings
propose that factors involved in producing normal male-female brain variations
may also play a role in schizophrenia, a mental illness that causes a range
of symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal and dulled
emotions. Apparently, gender seems to influence how schizophrenia affects individuals.
Men often experience more severe symptoms at earlier ages, have poorer prognoses
than women, typically have more severe social and cognitive problems and don't
respond as well to medications.
New Findings in Schizophrenia
Jill Goldstein, PhD and her colleagues at Harvard Medical School in Boston are
examining whether the clinical differences between men and women with schizophrenia
are related to sex-based differences in brain structure and function. The researchers
recently used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to compare the brains of 40 schizophrenic
patients to healthy individuals. Previous studies show that, in general, the
brains of schizophrenics are smaller than those of healthy people.
Many experts believe that schizophrenia is the result of a complex interaction
between a person's prenatal environment, normal brain development and genes.
Goldstein and colleagues speculate that the risk of schizophrenia begins six
months before birth and continues into the early newborn stages; laboratory
studies in animals show that sex hormones have their strongest effects on the
brain during this same time period. Thus, Dr. Goldstein and colleagues hypothesized
that effects of sex hormones on the brain occurring simultaneously with risk
factors for schizophrenia may result in different brain abnormalities among
male and females who go on to develop the disease.
The researchers discovered that the brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia
varied according to sex. Abnormalities occurred primarily in the part of the
brain known as the cortex, an area known to differ among healthy men and women,
too. According to the researchers, this suggests that the same factors that
contribute to normal sex differences may also be involved in the brain abnormalities
Dr. Goldstein's findings also suggest that sex differences in brain abnormalities
may lead to dissimilar symptoms among male and female schizophrenics. The cortex
is involved in language comprehension, verbal tasks, emotion, and social behavior.
A number of studies have shown that women with schizophrenia may be less vulnerable
to cognitive problems, especially those involving verbal processing, than schizophrenic
"There are clearly effects of sex on the brain," commented Charles
J. Epstein, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San
Francisco School of Medicine. "It may be that genetic insults are put on
top of normal sex differences, leading to different manifestations of mental
disorders among males and females. Getting a grasp on sex differences in mental
disorders will help us better understand and prevent these diseases and will
hopefully bring about better therapies."
"Understanding how mental illness and developmental disorders affect men
and women differently is key to advancing the field of neuroscience," said
Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, President and CEO of the Society for Women's Health
Research. The Society for Women's Health Research examined sex differences in
neuroscience at a scientific advisory meeting last year, covering brain and
pain mechanisms, behavioral sex differences, and addiction.
The Society for
Women's Health Research is the nation's only not-for-profit
organization whose sole mission is to improve the health of women through research.
Founded in 1990, the Society brought to national attention the need for the
appropriate inclusion of women in major medical research studies and the resulting
need for more information about conditions affecting women. The Society advocates
increased funding for research on women's health, encourages the study
of sex differences that may affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
disease, and promotes the inclusion of women in medical research studies. Dr.
Donnica Moore has been a member of the Society since 1990 and is a past member
of its Board of Directors.
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Created: 3/27/2002  - Donnica Moore, M.D.