TY  -  JOUR
AU  -  Ciampolillo, Anna
T1  -  Metabolic syndrome and gut microbiota: 
there is a gender difference?
PY  -  2019
Y1  -  2019-01-01
DO  -  10.1723/3148.31295
JO  -  The Italian Journal of Gender-Specific Medicine
JA  -  Ital J Gender-Specific Med
VL  -  5
IS  -  1
SP  -  21
EP  -  26
PB  -  Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore
SN  -  2612-3487
Y2  -  2026/05/02
UR  -  http://dx.doi.org/10.1723/3148.31295
N2  -  Summary. The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a cluster of diseases that includes at least three of these conditions (high blood pressure, abdominal fat, high triglycerides, elevated blood sugar and low HDL cholesterol). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the adult population is on the rise with an estimated prevalence of 20-25%. In addition, patients have a five-fold greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of death for cardiovascular causes.In this review, we address the issue of the gender differences in metabolic syndrome trying to understand the pathogenesis of this difference. Genetic and hormonal factors and recent experiments with mice models are taken in consideration to understand these differences.Moreover, recent studies on the direct effect of the gut microbiota on obesity by transplanting it from lean or obese mice into germ-free mice has demonstrated the important role of gut microbiota composition and its genetic background influence. Though the field is still young, studies demonstrate that diet, sex, and genetic background may each influence the composition of the gut microflora, and that the microbial community in turn impacts hormone levels, immunity, and metabolic homeostasis in the host.New knowledge on the pathogenesis of the gender differences in metabolic syndrome could in the future help to develop more sophisticated drugs that may decrease the cardiovascular risk of patients with this disease.
ER  -