About this Research Topic

Background

Although women are more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and men are twice as likely as women to develop Parkinson’s disease (PD), sex difference research has been neglected. This is because most research has focused only on male rodents and male subjects due to the stigma that females are variable and difficult to study. This myth has been disproved by several comprehensive studies noting that male data can be more variable. Therefore, in 2016 the NIH required that both male and female subjects be included in grant applications (SABV policy). Because of sex difference research, we now know that estrogen is neuroprotective in females and that the apolipoprotein e4 allele increases the risk of AD to a greater degree in women than men. However, men with depressive symptoms are at a greater risk for dementia than women. This area of research is particularly important for finding therapeutics as there are sex differences in response to cholinesterase inhibitors used to treat AD. This further encourages researchers to understand the mechanisms underlying sex and gender differences in disease processes.

This Research Topic aims to present significant evidence of sex and gender differences in the progression and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including, AD, PD, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The Research Topic welcomes original research and review papers focused on sex and gender differences in both the preclinical and clinical studies. Research studies carried out using in vitro cell, in vivo rodent, or non-rodent models to explore the impact of sex and gender on neurodegeneration can be recommended.

The scope and focus areas of the present Research Topic include but are not limited to:

-Sex and gender differences in cognitive and motor decline.

-Sex and gender differences in neurodegenerative brain pathology (amyloid, tau, neuronal loss).

-Sex and gender differences in treatment for neurodegenerative diseases.

-Effect of hormones on neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Sex, gender, neurodegeneration, cognition, hormones, therapeutics, neural circuitry

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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