Читать книгу Brain Fitness for Women - Sondra Kornblatt - Страница 22

About 75% of all autoimmune disorders happen in women.⁴⁸ In autoimmune syndromes, such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), lupus, Hashimoto's in the thyroid, multiple chemical sensitivity, and rheumatoid arthritis.⁴⁹ A patient's immune or infection-protecting defenses turn back against her and attack some of her own healthy functional cells and tissues.⁵⁰

“Sex hormones influence the onset and severity of immune … conditions,” says an article in the American Journal of Pathology.⁵¹ That's partly because immune cells have receptors for estrogen and androgens (e.g., testosterone). While androgens and perhaps progestogens may protect from autoimmune disease, says the Oxford Journal of Rheumatology,⁵² estrogen mostly stimulates the immune system.⁵³