Sex and Gender: Critical Variables in Pre-Clinical and Clinical Medical Research

Eugenia Morselli; Aaron P Frank; Roberta S Santos; Luciana A Fátima; Biff F Palmer; Deborah J Clegg

doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2016.07.017

Sex and Gender: Critical Variables in Pre-Clinical and Clinical Medical Research

Cell Metab. 2016 Aug 9;24(2):203-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.07.017.

Authors

Eugenia Morselli¹, Aaron P Frank², Roberta S Santos³, Luciana A Fátima⁴, Biff F Palmer⁵, Deborah J Clegg⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Biological Sciences, Department of Physiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile.
² Department of Biomedical Research, Cedars-Sinai Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
³ Departamento de Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Instituto de Biologia, e Centro de Pesquisa em Obesidade e Comorbidades, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP 13083-970, Brazil.
⁴ Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
⁶ Department of Biomedical Research, Cedars-Sinai Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA. Electronic address: deborah.clegg@cshs.org.

PMID: 27508869
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2016.07.017

Abstract

In this Essay, we discuss the critical need to incorporate sex and gender in pre-clinical and clinical research to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms by which metabolic processes differ by sex and gender. This knowledge will allow for development of personalized medicine which will optimize therapies specific for individuals.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; chromosome; estrogens; gender; obesity; sex; testosterone; type 2 diabetes.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Biological Evolution
Disease
Female
Hormones
Humans
Male
Risk Factors
Sex Characteristics*
Sex Factors

Substances

Hormones