[Sod_James]

Omg see i knew it. Man flu is real. i got it right now and i just heard this

Men's ability to turn a sniffle into flu and a headache into a migraine has long been a source of irritation to wives and girlfriends.

But man flu may not be a myth after all thanks to research showing that men really are the weaker sex.

Researchers found that women have a more powerful immune system than men thanks to their hormones.

Weaker sex: Research on mice found females are protected by the hormone oestrogen which boosts the immune system's first line of attack on bacteria

The study showed that the female sex hormone oestrogen boosts the immune system's first line of attack against bacteria and other invaders.

The finding raises the possibility of using oestrogen-based drugs to shore up the male body's defences.

The research focused on an enzyme called caspase-12.
It raises susceptibility to infection by blocking the inflammation the body uses to fight bacteria and other unwanted bugs.

Mice unable to make the enzyme were extremely resistant to infection, the researchers from McGill University in Montreal showed.

They then genetically engineered the mice to make the enzyme. The males became susceptible to infection, as expected, but the females didn't.

Experiments showed that the oestrogen made by the female mice kept immunity high, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

Researcher Maya Saleh said: 'These results demonstrate that women have a more powerful inflammatory response than men.'

She added that while the study was carried out on mice, the finding was likely to apply to people, raising the possibility of immunityboosting drugs.

But Dr Saleh cautioned: 'A question remains. Will men be amenable to the idea of being treated with an exclusively female hormone?' Surveys have shown that up to 30 per cent of men take sick days because of colds and flu, compared with just 22 per cent of women.

its from the Daily Mail

[Stu]

Daily Mail. Enough said, really. Whatever the articles worth, a court order prevents me from reading Daily Mail quotations. 'Else they send me to the funny farm with all the other Daily Mail readers.