Tackling gender in progressive supranuclear palsy : male patients present more apathy

Gender differences in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may become relevant for clinical trials, treatment decisions and patient counseling. To study gender associated differences we conducted a retrospective data analysis of 191 male and 157 female PSP patients from a large multicenter observational cohort in Germany. While no differences in motor skills, disease severity, daily living abilities, global cognitive status and depressive symptoms were observed between genders, male patients showed significantly higher apathy scores, a finding also noted in other neurological diseases. In this study, apart from male patients exhibiting higher levels of apathy, no significant disease-specific gender differences were observed in PSP patients.