Analysis Of Metabolites Reveals Need For Gender-Specific Therapies

Posted by taznetwork at 10:08 PM . Saturday, August 20, 2011

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Blood / Hematology; Women's Health / Gynecology; Men's health
Article Date: 11 Aug 2011 - 14:00 PDT window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId: 'aa16a4bf93f23f07eb33109d5f1134d3', status: true, cookie: true, xfbml: true, channelUrl: 'http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/scripts/facebooklike.html'}); }; (function() { var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e); }()); email to a friend printer friendly opinions
5 stars 4 stars
Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have agreed in a study that will be published on August 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, that there is a need for gender-specific therapies after analyzing the metabolic profile of blood serum revealed significant differences in metabolites between men and women.

Due to significant differences in both, male and female metabolisms, gender-specific therapies may be needed for some diseases. A population-based study including 3,000 volunteers revealed existing differences for 101 of the 131 metabolites. All differences belonged to the lipid and amino acid species.

Professor Thomas Illig and Dr. Kirstin Mittelstrass point out that,

"in terms of molecular profiles, men and women have to be assigned to two completely different categories. That means that we also need gender-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases."

The study combined genetic data with metabolic profiles, revealing active metabolic paths when provided with specific conditions. Because the combination of genetics and metabolomics give insight into the causes and progression of specific diseases, new therapeutic approaches could be made and new drugs developed that enable indicators to recognize diseases, such as diabetes, at an early stage.

According to Professor Illig, the next phase of the study will consist of increasing the number of metabolites and evaluate further studies from a gender-specific point of view. He said,

"Through the combination of gender-specific evaluation, genetic association studies and metabolomics we will gain a detailed understanding of how major widespread diseases such as diabetes mellitus develop."

Written by Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Article Reference:
”Discovery of Sexual Dimorphisms in Metabolic and Genetic Biomarkers” Mittelstrass K, Ried JS, Yu Z, Krumsiek J, Gieger C, et al. (2011)
PLoS Genet 7(8): e1002215. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002215

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

View the original article here

FREE