, Aug. 20 -- Scientists have identified more than 1,000 genetic switches that could help explain why women generally have stronger immune responses but are also more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases.

Researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW Sydney say their findings may shed light on why autoimmune diseases affect women much more often than men. In diseases such as lupus, women can be affected at rates as high as nine times those of men.

Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own healthy tissues.

The study, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, found more than 1,000 genetic switches that work differently in male and female immune cells. Many of these diff...