Male, Female Brains Act Differently to Certain Drugs

The research suggests that female and male brains may respond differently to certain drugs. The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

"The importance of studying sex differences in the brain is about making biology and medicine relevant to everyone, to both men and women," said senior author of the study Catherine Woolley, professor at Northwestern in Illinois, US.

Among their findings, the scientists found that a drug called URB-597, which regulates a molecule important in neurotransmitter release, had an effect in females that it did not have in males. The study was performed  in rats, it has broad implications for humans because this drug and others like it are currently being tested in clinical trials in humans. Scientists study both sexes.

Currently, about 85 percent of basic neuroscience studies are done in male animals, tissues or cells.

"We are not doing women -- and specifically women's health -- any favors by pretending that things are the same if they are not," Woolley said.

"If the results of research would be different in female animals, tissues and cells, then we need to know. This is essential so that we can find appropriate diagnoses, treatments and, ultimately, cures for disease in both sexes," she pointed out.