Men and women are impacted differently by brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers are urging their colleagues to remember those differences when researching treatments and cures.
In APL Bioengineering, by AIP Publishing, University of Maryland scientists highlight a growing body of research suggesting sex differences play roles in how patients respond to brain diseases, as well as multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, and other brain ailments.
That is progress from just a few years ago, said Alisa Morss Clyne, director of the university’s Vascular Kinetics Laboratory.
“I have worked with vascular cells for 20 years and, up until maybe about five years ago, if you asked if the sex of my cells mattered at all, I would have said no,” Clyne said. Then, she worked on a difficult study in which data appeared “all over the place.”
AANS Neurosurgeon is the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and features information and analysis for contemporary neurosurgical practice. Published monthly online, AANS Neurosurgeon focuses on issues related to neurosurgery legislation, the workforce and practice management.
