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Why Do Women Face Higher MS Risk?

by C.

Article Date: 02-04-05

Why do women develop multiple sclerosis (MS) twice as often as men

do? It's a question that hasn't been answered definitively in scientific

research. Now, doctors at the Mayo Clinic have announced findings of recent

research that delved into the differences.1 They say their discovery could lead

to better treatments for MS, helping to minimize the tissue and nerve damage

that the diseases causes.

Their report appears in the January 27 online edition of the journal

Genes and Immunity.

It Boils Down to One Thing

The scientists discovered that the gender differences that exist in

MS susceptibility may all come down to levels of a certain protein your body

produces. Women, their findings suggest, produce more of it than men.

" How much of a protein known as 'interferon gamma' you produce

appears to be a new key variable in understanding who gets MS and who doesn't,

and especially why women develop MS more often than men, " explained Mayo Clinic

neurologist Weinshenker, MD, the study's chief author. " If you have a gene

that produces high levels of interferon gamma, it may predispose you to

developing MS. "

This trial was based on the knowledge that interferon gamma levels

vary between men and women.2

Genetic Distinctions Found

Working with teams of researchers from Northern Ireland, Belgium and

Italy, the Mayo Clinic group compared MS risk in four patient populations. In

studying commonalities of MS susceptibility at the genetic level, the scientists

found that men tend to carry a gene variant that causes high levels of

interferon gamma less often than women do. " It seems as if men have a lower

frequency of high secretion interferon gamma genetic variant, and that might

explain why men are generally protected more from MS, " said Weinshenker.

The researchers had theorized that this genetic variant produced

high levels of interferon gamma, which in turn, tended to promote the kind of

inflammation and tissue damage found in MS. If the variant was overrepresented

in women compared to men, it would explain at least some of the excess MS risk

in women. The discovery confirmed their theory.

The Role This Protein Plays in MS

What exactly is interferon gamma? It belongs to a group of proteins

that communicate with cells. Research by scientists at the Cleveland Clinic has

shown that women and men naturally express different levels of this protein.2

Other experiments found that high levels of interferon gamma could intensify the

damage caused by MS, and make the disease worse.3 These studies formed the basis

for the latest research.

" Our finding isn't the whole genetic cause, but it's a helpful step

that could lead us to a more complete understanding of MS, and ultimately,

effective treatment, " Weinshenker explained. " It's also a very promising lead

about gender differences that may pertain to susceptibility of other diseases,

too, such as rheumatoid arthritis. "

1. Kantarci OH, Goris A, Hebrink DD et al. IFNG polymorphisms are

associated with gender differences in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.

Genes Immun 2005 Jan 27; [Epub ahead of print].

2. Nguyen LT, Ramanathan M, Weinstock-Guttman B, Baier M,

Brownscheidle C, s LD. Sex differences in in-vitro pro-inflammatory

cytokine production from peripheral blood of multiple sclerosis patients. J

Neurol Sci 2003 May 15;209(1-2):93-9.

3. Jansen M, Reinhard JF Jr. Interferon response heterogeneity:

activation of a pro-inflammatory response by interferon alpha and beta. A

possible basis for diverse responses to interferon beta in MS. J Leukoc Biol

1999 Apr;65(4):439-43.

is a long-time health journalist and an editor for

Priority Healthcare. His credits include coverage of health news for the website

of Fox Television's The Health Network, and articles for the New York Post and

other consumer and trade publications.