Flu Vaccine May Work Better in Women

[xchrom]

http://www.livescience.com/42195-flu-vaccine-better-in-women.html

Women have a stronger immune response than men when given the flu vaccine, new research shows.

This may mean that vaccinated women are better protected against catching the flu than vaccinated men, although the new study did not look at this directly, the researchers said.

In the study, researchers examined the inflammatory responses of 53 women and 34 men following vaccination with a flu shot. Scientists found that men had a weaker response, or less inflammation in their bodies, than women after receiving the vaccine, and the response was weakest among some of the men who had the highest testosterone levels.

The finding "reinforces the message that there are major differences between men and women in terms of their immune systems," said study researcher Mark Davis, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford School of Medicine. "Like many other areas, it hasn't been that well explored."

[Warren Stupidity]

1. more ammo for the "no such thing as male privilege" faction.

[Warpy]

2. Hey, it's nice to find ourselves on the positive side of the ledger for something

Better immune systems and no prostate glands are about it, so far.

[SheilaT]

3. how interesting.

I wonder why.

From what I think I've learned over the past fifty years or so, people can have highly individual reactions/responses to drugs, or treatments, or almost anything that is medical. I honestly think that's a lot of what's behind what is commonly called woo. Because not everyone responds the same way to a drug or a virus or a bacteria or anything, different people will draw different conclusions.

I know I tend to see the world through the prism of my extraordinary good health. Even though I know that I'm healthier than many, I still tend to fall into the trap of not understanding why everyone isn't like me. The same bias applies to others, those who are lactose or gluten intolerant, for instance, my tend to think the whole world is like them. And so on.