FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 354:1507-1514 April 6, 2006 Number 14 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text Purchase this article Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

Everyone in medicine and related fields understands that there are marked sex-based differences in the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, course, and therapy of disease.¹ Although very few of these differences are understood in molecular or cellular terms, the explanations must derive from the fundamental biologic differences between the sexes. This article reviews the current understanding of hormonal and genetic differences between the sexes.

Fertility in Men and Women

Fertility differs considerably between men and women (Table 1). Men are fertile from puberty through at least the 9th decade of life, and some men are fertile into the 10th decade. Although there is some decrease . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Hormonal Differences between the Sexes

Transport of Sex Hormones

Peripheral Events

Sex Hormones as Somatic Hormones

Genetic Differences between the Sexes

Imprinting

Socioeconomic Factors

Conclusions

Source Information

From Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Federman at Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St., Boston, MA 02115, or at daniel_federman@hms.harvard.edu.

Related Letters:

The Biology of Human Sex Differences
Stanford J. B., Federman D. D.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2006; 355:98, Jul 6, 2006. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Jarrin, I., Geskus, R., Bhaskaran, K., Prins, M., Perez-Hoyos, S., Muga, R., Hernandez-Aguado, I., Meyer, L., Porter, K., Amo, J. d., and the CASCADE Collaboration, (2008). Gender Differences in HIV Progression to AIDS and Death in Industrialized Countries: Slower Disease Progression Following HIV Seroconversion in Women. Am J Epidemiol 168: 532-540 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Shaw, L. J., Bairey Merz, C. N., Azziz, R., Stanczyk, F. Z., Sopko, G., Braunstein, G. D., Kelsey, S. F., Kip, K. E., Cooper-DeHoff, R. M., Johnson, B. D., Vaccarino, V., Reis, S. E., Bittner, V., Hodgson, T. K., Rogers, W., Pepine, C. J. (2008). Postmenopausal Women with a History of Irregular Menses and Elevated Androgen Measurements at High Risk for Worsening Cardiovascular Event-Free Survival: Results from the National Institutes of Health--National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 93: 1276-1284 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Adrie, C., Azoulay, E., Francais, A., Clec'h, C., Darques, L., Schwebel, C., Nakache, D., Jamali, S., Goldgran-Toledano, D., Garrouste-Orgeas, M., Timsit, J. F., for the OutcomeRea Study Group, (2007). Influence of Gender on the Outcome of Severe Sepsis: A Reappraisal. Chest 132: 1786-1793 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dimitrov, N. V., Colucci, P., Nagpal, S. (2007). Some Aspects of the Endocrine Profile and Management of Hormone-Dependent Male Breast Cancer. The Oncologist 12: 798-807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Schumacher, M., Guennoun, R., Ghoumari, A., Massaad, C., Robert, F., El-Etr, M., Akwa, Y., Rajkowski, K., Baulieu, E.-E. (2007). Novel Perspectives for Progesterone in Hormone Replacement Therapy, with Special Reference to the Nervous System. Endocr. Rev. 28: 387-439 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ding, E. L., Powe, N. R., Manson, J. E., Sherber, N. S., Braunstein, J. B. (2007). Sex Differences in Perceived Risks, Distrust, and Willingness to Participate in Clinical Trials: A Randomized Study of Cardiovascular Prevention Trials. Arch Intern Med 167: 905-912 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Deschepper, C. F., Llamas, B. (2007). Hypertensive Cardiac Remodeling in Males and Females: From the Bench to the Bedside. Hypertension 49: 401-407 [Full Text]  
• Laube, D. W. (2006). Medical Education: What's Relevant, What's Irrelevant, and What's Missing.. Obstet Gynecol 108: 1062-1066 [Full Text]  
• Bouvattier, C., Mignot, B., Lefevre, H., Morel, Y., Bougneres, P. (2006). Impaired Sexual Activity in Male Adults with Partial Androgen Insensitivity. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 91: 3310-3315 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stanford, J. B., Federman, D. D. (2006). The biology of human sex differences.. NEJM 355: 98-98 [Full Text]