Maybe the male flu really does exist

Most people perceive the concept of "male flu" only as a way of ridicule the representatives of the stronger sex, who complain too much about their seasonal cold. Nevertheless, a new study suggests that the term may be quite real, and, perhaps, it should even be used in medicine. The results of the work of scientists were presented in the journal American Journal of Physiology.

Several donors participated in the experiment

To carry out the experiment, the influenza A virus was used. It multiplies in the body in the same way as a serious infection. The goal of the scientists was to check how differently the female and male organisms react to infection. A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University took samples of cells from the nasal cavity of volunteers. Donors were made by several men and women. The emphasis was placed on the cells located in the nasal cavity, because they are primarily affected by the virus.

After receiving the samples, the scientists began research on them to determine if estrogen affects the replication of the virus. If the male flu can still be true, then probably the answer should be positive. It is known that estrogen is, first and foremost, a female sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the reproductive system of women. In some quantities, it is contained in the body of men, but in this context the role of this component is not so important. Women have more estrogen in their blood than the other half of humanity, and researchers suspect that this fact is directly related to the term "male flu".

Resistance to influenza: who is stronger?

The scientists processed all the cell samples obtained with preparations belonging to the class of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SMER). After that, the tissues came into contact with the influenza virus. It was found that all female cells treated with SMER 1-3 days before infection proved to be quite resistant to infection. Nevertheless, their opposition to the viral load was not stronger than that of male samples. On the contrary, some female cells proved more pliable than those of the stronger sex. However, nevertheless, this did not lead scientists to the idea that the male flu actually does not exist. While the researchers only concluded that there are no specific antiviral properties in estrogen.

Treatment with estrogen

Sabra Klein, the lead author of the scientific work, noted in her statement that the female hormone proved to be quite effective in the fight against HIV, Ebola and hepatitis. This was shown by a number of parallel studies.

"We can conclude that the therapeutic estrogens used to treat infertility and menopause are fully capable of protecting against the flu," she added. "However, a man is unlikely to get at least a drop of benefit from such drugs."