The male symptoms of influenza are really worse than women: because of lack of estrogen, which in the other half of the sky instead play a protective role against infection.

This was stated by a study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology explaining how the increased human suffering may be real, because of a molecular fact: estrogen that the male has a much lesser extent than the female.

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University, starting from the analysis of infected nasal cells, studied in particular the effect of estrogen on virus replication. Estrogens are sex hormones responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system, which also play a role in the development of young adult males.

To demonstrate how the smaller presence of estrogen may aggravate the male flu symptoms, the researchers exposed the nasal uninfected cells to estrogen and to a class of drugs called selective estrogen modulators, or SERMs receptor. The treated cells were then put into contact with the influenza virus.

Well, those treated from 72 to 24 hours prior to infection showed a greater resistance than normal male cells, with a viral load far below. For researchers, this confirms that the female hormone estrogen also specific antiviral qualities, probably due to their ability to reduce the metabolic rate of the cell, which would slow down the ability of the virus to replicate.

Sabra Klein, lead author of the study, noted that "other studies had already shown that estrogens have antiviral properties against HIV, Ebola and hepatitis." The novelty is that these hormones "so far used to treat infertility and menopause, may also be used for therapeutic purposes to protect from the flu."

From Focus