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The New York Times reported that more men were seriously ill or died of Covid 19 than women, and two clinical trials are now being tested if differences in sex hormones explain this.
Since the Corona virus pandemic first appeared in China, men around the world have needed more intensive medical care, or death from disease, than women, according to the Times report.
For example, men account for about 75% of Covid 19 patients in intensive care, or ventilators, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Sarah Gandary, a lung specialist and intensive care doctor, told the newspaper.
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This may be related to the high prevalence of heart and lung disease in men, who also smoke cigarettes in general, consume alcohol, and are exposed to outdoor air pollution at higher rates than women, said Sarah Hawkes, professor of health. Global Public at University College London, in his conversation with NPR in an episode of Morning Edition.
However, in addition to these factors, “there is a lot of evidence that a woman’s immune system is fundamentally stronger.”
The Times reported that sex hormones: estrogen and progesterone, which are produced by women in greater amounts than men, help regulate the female immune system and can give women special resistance against infections and harmful responses. of the immune system. With this in mind, scientists at Cedars-Sinai and the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University plan to treat small groups of “Covid 19” hormones with hormones, to see if they will make a difference.
Speaking to The Times, Dr. Sharon Nakman, principal investigator of the Stony Brook University experiment, said: “We may not understand exactly how estrogen works” to counteract COFED 19, “but perhaps we can see how it works for the patient. “
The Stony Brook trial will include 110 patients with confirmed or hypothetical cases of Covid 19 who have developed at least one serious symptom, such as high fever, shortness of breath, or pneumonia, but are not yet in need of respiratory assistance, according to ClinicalTrials. .
All men over 18 can participate in the experiment, as well as women over 55 (estrogen levels in women tend to decrease after menopause). Half of the participants were treated with estrogen adhesives on their skin for one week, while the other half would receive standard medical care.
Nakman said previous research indicates that an increase in estrogen can help clear the virus from the body, as well as support the repair of damaged tissues once the “Covid 19” infection begins to fade.
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Gandaryi said that participants in the Cedars-Sinai trial will receive progesterone, non-estrogenic, because progesterone can have anti-inflammatory properties and can prevent the onset of the so-called cytokine storm, as inflammatory chemical signals become uncontrolled and harmful to the body. .
The study will include 40 men from the hospital with mild to moderate “Covid 19” infection. Half of these men will receive two doses of progesterone daily for 5 days. Estrogen and progesterone trials will monitor the severity of patients’ illnesses over time and compare treatment groups with untreated ones.
Both experiences are based on the idea that high levels of estrogen and progesterone can help the body fight the “Covid 19” infection, but all the data does not support this idea, said Sabra Klein, who studies sex differences in infections. Virals and Vaccination Responses, at the School of Public Health with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg.
She said that “older male people are still disproportionately affected” by “Covid 19” compared to older women, whose hormone levels drop dramatically after menopause. This suggests to me that it should be something genetic or something else, not just hormonal. ” Klein added that estrogen and progesterone infusions can continue to modify the male immune system in beneficial ways.
Source: life sciences
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