Sex Dimorphism and Parkinson's Disease: What We Learned

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) affects the nervous system of patients in a gender-discriminative way. In regards to the epidemiological observations, amongst the 10 million people worldwide who are living with PD, recent reports have stated 1.5 times the greater incidence in men than in women. What is more, while growing evidence is showing gender as a considerable biological variable, preclinical research on PD has shown tangible explanations of epidemiological observation. Indeed, it has been shown that the symptoms are delayed in women especially because of a high dopamine level in the striatum, possibly due to the activity of estrogens. Thus, in this chapter, the authors present an overview of sexual dimorphism in PD and the possible mechanisms linking the differences observed between men and women in the incidence of PD.