Why sex matters Among human and nonhuman animals, the prevalence and intensity of infection typically is higher in males than females and may reflect differences in exposure as well as susceptibility to pathogens. Elevated immunity among females is a double-edged sword in which it is beneficial against infectious diseases but is detrimental in terms of increased development of autoimmune diseases. The present book critically reviews the evolutionary origin and the functional mechanisms responsible for sexual dimorphism in response to infection. It emphasizes the value of examining responses...

This book provides an overview of the underlying sex-based and hormone-based differences in immunity, wound healing and pharmacokinetics, while also exploring how pregnancy affects immunity. The second part of the book shows, for the first time in a single volume, the growing number of infectious diseases for which sex and gender differences are noted, identifies common as well as distinct mechanisms mediating these differences and illustrates how responses to treatments might differ between the sexes. The awareness that males and females differ in their response to specific pathogens as well...