Special Issue of Translational Stroke: Importance of Sex in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Acute CNS Repair

Excerpt

Over the last several decades, basic research studies as well as clinical programs have emphasized the importance of gender on injury mechanisms leading to the devastating consequences of CNS injury. Also, the importance of gender in targeting these complicated pathomechanisms with various therapeutic interventions has also been emphasized. Indeed, several early investigations reported differences in CNS vulnerability between male and female animals having similar types of insults including cerebral ischemia and neurotrauma. Other studies reported the importance of circulating hormones on affecting the response of the brain to damage, thus emphasizing various endogenous protective mechanisms that may be present in some genders. The present issue includes nine papers that report different aspects of gender-specific differences in the CNS response to damage and how this information can help identify novel therapeutic treatments for these devastating disorders. Each article is written by experts in the field and is well organized, clear, and informative. We feel that this special issue is timely and will be of value to many scientists and clinicians working in the field of CNS injury and repair. …