TNFα Variation During the Menstrual Cycle and Thereafter: A New Explanation for Gender-Based Disparities in ICU Admission Rates, Trauma Outcomes, and General Mortality.

Background: Multiple studies have found gender-based disparities in intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates and in complications following trauma. Female gender was associated with lower mortality when comparing patients less than 50 years of age. These data suggest an important role for cycle rather than gender itself.

Deviations in circulating TNFα levels and TNFα production by mononuclear cells in healthy human populations.

Objectives: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) plays a pivotal role in the inflammatory host response. The serum-level of TNFα and the production of TNFα by lympho/monocytes, however, seem to show high individual variations. The goal of the present study was to investigate the variations and inducibility of TNFα-activity in two age-groups of healthy volunteers.