Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have agreed in a study that will be published on August 11 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, that there is a need for gender-specific therapies after analyzing the metabolic profile of blood serum revealed significant differences in metabolites between men and women.
Due to significant differences in both, male and female metabolisms, gender-specific therapies may be needed for some diseases. A population-based study including 3,000 volunteers revealed existing differences for 101 of the 131 metabolites. All differences belonged to the lipid and amino acid species.
Professor Thomas Illig and Dr. Kirstin Mittelstrass point out that,
The study combined genetic data with metabolic profiles, revealing active metabolic paths when provided with specific conditions. Because the combination of genetics and metabolomics give insight into the causes and progression of specific diseases, new therapeutic approaches could be made and new drugs developed that enable indicators to recognize diseases, such as diabetes, at an early stage.
According to Professor Illig, the next phase of the study will consist of increasing the number of metabolites and evaluate further studies from a gender-specific point of view. He said,
“Through the combination of gender-specific evaluation, genetic association studies and metabolomics we will gain a detailed understanding of how major widespread diseases such as diabetes mellitus develop.”
Written by Petra Rattue