Written by Margarida Maia, PhD | February 16, 2026
- Women with Parkinson’s show more uneven muscle contraction than men.
- Differences stem from motor unit firing variability and discharge rates.
- This informs personalized diagnostics and sex-specific Parkinson’s treatments.
Women with Parkinson’s disease have more uneven and unstable muscle contraction than men, even when their clinical symptoms are similar, a study found.
The differences are related to the firing of motor units; a motor unit is a single nerve cell and the muscle fibers it controls, which together produce movement.
Findings from the study, by researchers at Kanazawa University in Japan, could “contribute to the development of personalized diagnostic methods and treatment strategies that account for sex-specific factors, ultimately leading to more effective interventions and improved quality of life,” according to a university press release.
The study, “Sex Differences in Motor Unit Behavior in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease,” was published as a research report in the European Journal of Neuroscience by an international team of researchers.
Growing evidence suggests differences between men and women in how common Parkinson’s is and how its motor and nonmotor symptoms manifest. The researchers sought to determine whether there are sex differences in motor unit firing abnormalities in Parkinson’s patients.
Read more here: Parkinson’s muscle firing patterns different from women than for men
Recent Comments