Gender-specific medicine: the new profile of gynecology.

The science of gynecology is undergoing a change and is swiftly turning into a holistic discipline, i.e. gender-specific medicine. The rationale for this is that the hormones of the ovary not only are responsible for reproduction but also perform a number of extragenital functions that extend far into other disciplines, giving rise to a different frequency of diseases in women than in men. For example, females are five times more likely to be affected by rheumatoid arthritis than males, the same also holding true for autoaggressive conditions. This phenomenon may be accounted for by the fact that physiological auto-aggression is involved in the reproductive process. Similarly, there is a difference between women and men with regard to the sicca phenomenon, or to such disorders as connective tissue weakness, cellulite, venous conditions or hypercholesterolemia. A cause-related treatment of such problems is now available through specific endocrine therapy. That is why gynecologists in future will increasingly have to adopt an interdisciplinary approach.