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Background: Past research indicates a higher prevalence, incidence, and severe clinical manifestations of alpha-synucleinopathies in men, leading to a suggestion of neuroprotective properties of female sex hormones (especially estrogen). The potential pathomechanisms of any such effect on alpha-synucleinopathies, however, are far from understood. With that aim, we undertook to systematically review, and to critically assess, contemporary evidence on sex and gender differences in alpha-synucleinopathies using a bench-to-bedside approach.
Methods: In this systematic review, studies investigating sex and gender differences in alpha-synucleinopathies (Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Behavior Disorder (RBD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), Multiple System Atrophy (MSA)) from 2012 to 2022 were identified using electronic database searches of PubMed, Embase and Ovid.
Results: One hundred sixty-two studies were included; 5 RBD, 6 MSA, 20 DLB and 131 PD studies. Overall, there is conclusive evidence to suggest sex-and gender-specific manifestation in demographics, biomarkers, genetics, clinical features, interventions, and quality of life in alpha-synucleinopathies. Only limited data exists on the effects of distinct sex hormones, with majority of studies concentrating on estrogen and its speculated neuroprotective effects.
Conclusion: Future studies disentangling the underlying sex-specific mechanisms of alpha-synucleinopathies are urgently needed in order to enable novel sex-specific therapeutics.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1204104 | DOI Listing |
Methods Cell Biol
September 2025
Histology and Cell Biology Department, School of Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address:
Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder globally, trailing only Alzheimer´s disease. It currently affects nearly 3 % of individuals aged 65 and above. The disease is characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons accompanied by a chronic neuroinflammatory process, which is responsible for both motor symptoms (tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia) and non-motor symptoms (depression, dysphagia, anxiety, constipation, and anosmia).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Neurol
September 2025
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany.
Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor symptoms altering gait domains such as slow walking speed, reduced step and stride length, and increased double support time. Gait disturbances occur in the early, mild to moderate, and advanced stages of the disease in both backward walking (BW) and forward walking (FW), but are more pronounced in BW. At this point, however, no information is available about BW performance and disease stages specified using the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMov Disord Clin Pract
September 2025
Centre for Age-Related Medicine (SESAM), Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.
Background: The global burden of dementia is increasing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia but remains underreported and frequently misdiagnosed. Its prevalence in Latin America is largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Neurol
August 2025
Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 64710 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
Introduction: While there is a growing body of evidence indicating a potential connection between Parkinson's disease and diabetes mellitus, there is a lack of focus on investigating how diabetes correlates with the severity of both motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
Objective: This study examined and contrasted both motor and non-motor symptoms in patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, stratified by the presence or absence of diabetes.
Methods: A total of 40 Parkinson's disease patients, divided into two groups (with and without diabetes), were assessed using various scales, including the Movement Disorders Society - Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease - Autonomic Dysfunction and Non-Motor Symptoms, Beck Depression Inventory, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39.
J Neurol
September 2025
Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehakro Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea.
Speech disorders differ between Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA), but studies focusing on group differences based on syllables or including cerebellar ataxia (CA) are lacking until now. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze syllable-based speech characteristics in patients with PD, MSA, and CA, as well as healthy controls, to determine their diagnostic utility. Speech samples were collected from 68 PD, 52 MSA, 23 CA, and 70 healthy controls.
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