Epilepsy Talk

Epilepsy Differences Between Men and Women | February 25, 2025

Men and women have long suspected that our brains are wired a bit differently.

Now science is starting to back up this notion.

A new study finds that men have more synapses connecting the cells in a particular part of the brain than women do.

In short, each sex excels at different types of cognitive functions.

Neuroscientists have been examining brains to look for structural differences between the sexes that could explain these differences in abilities.

Several studies in recent years have shown that men and women have different ratios of white and gray matter in their brains and different densities of nerve cells.

When looking even more deeply into the brain’s make-up, researchers found differences in the density of synapses, the junctions between neurons that allow the cells to communicate with each other.

The researchers examined fresh brain tissue removed from patients with epilepsy during brain surgery with an electron microscope.

They found that in the temporal neocortex, which is involved in social and emotional processes, men had a higher density of synapses than women.

Yet the triggers for their stressors are significantly different.

For example, researchers reported they found men were affected  primarily by work and financially related stressors.

Conversely, women identified stressors associated with troubled family relationships, coping with multiple responsibilities and health related events of family, friends and loved ones.

Although, in many ways, epilepsy is a different disease for women than men.

Most obvious are the biological differences between women and men, but also the different social roles they play.

As a result of these differences, women with epilepsy face different challenges – especially hormonally.

Between puberty, menstrual cycles and menopause, each phase of a woman’s life can have different complications for epilepsy.

In fact, the nature of their seizures may change – especially in the area of reproductive health.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, hormonal changes in men are less obvious than in women because they do not have a monthly menstrual cycle.

“However, in men, hormones (testosterone and related hormones) also influence brain function and may have an impact on seizures,” says the foundation’s website.

Both men and women tend to have problems with reproduction.

If they’re suffering from uncontrolled seizures of temporal lobe origin, they tend to have less interest in sex, getting physically aroused and to have less fertility.

In women, the specific fertility problem is irregular and often related to their ovulation and with men it’s a poor sperm count.

Epilepsy and use of AEDs may affect reproductive abilities and endocrine disorders.

So, both male and female epilepsy patients may be more susceptible to a reduced birth rate than the rest of the population.

And thanks to negative psychological and social implications, the frequency of marriage is decreased.

On the other hand, there are epilepsy and AEDs that can alter sex hormone levels to promote development of reproductive endocrine disorders in both women and men.

Together with sex steroids and their metabolites which may also provide positive treatment for seizures.

Yet, despite that, the birth rate is lower among married epilepsy patients.

There’s still fear and lowered self-confidence, along with social mores and stigmas.

Part of it is due to a common lack of knowledge.

And then there’s the fear that the parents will have a child with severe physical problems, if not epilepsy itself.

However, more than 90 percent of pregnant women who have epilepsy deliver healthy babies, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.

And the great majority of parents (both men and women) with epilepsy do not have children with epilepsy.

So there IS hope…for both women…and men!

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Articles of interest:

New Agent for Female Sexual Dysfunction Has Promise  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACOG/45496?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2014-05-01&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&eun=g678262d0r&userid=678262&email=pfjohnson@comcast.net&mu_id=5845719

Testosterone Tx Needs Clinical Trials   http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/GeneralEndocrinology/45500?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2014-05-01&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=WC&eun=g678262d0r&userid=678262&email=pfjohnson@comcast.net&mu_id=5845719

Resources:

http://www.livescience.com/health/080905-synapse-gap.html

http://www.seizure-journal.com/article/S1059-1311(15)00028-X/pdf

https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/guide/your-changing-hormones#1.

https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/women-epilepsy-overview

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