Does Her Diabetes Differ From His?

Yes, say scientists who see need for gender-specific drug treatments

Scientists who identified significant differences in male and female metabolism say there's a need for gender-specific drug therapies for some diseases.

The German researchers analyzed the metabolic profile of blood serum from more than 3,000 people and found major gender differences for 101 of 131 metabolites, especially in lipids and amino acids.

The results prove 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," said Professor Thomas Illig and Dr. Kirstin Mittelstrass.

The scientists' next step is to analyze more metabolites and evaluate further studies from a gender-specific viewpoint, they said in a journal news release.

"Through the combination of gender-specific evaluation, genetic association studies and metabolomics [the study of the chemical processes involving the products of metabolism], we will gain a detailed understanding of how major widespread diseases such as diabetes mellitus develop," Illig said.