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Pharmaceuticals
Special Issues
Sex Differences in Pharmaceutical Practice
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Special Issue "Sex Differences in Pharmaceutical Practice"

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2023 | Viewed by 3959

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Silvia De Francia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
Interests: pharmacology; sex and gender medicine; pharmacokinetics; pharmacodynamics; pharmacogenomics; personalized therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sarah Allegra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, University of Turin, S. Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, 10043 Orbassano, Italy
Interests: sex and gender pharmacology; gender medicine; pharmacokinetics; pharmacogenomics; personalized therapy.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Until the last quarter of the 20th century, sex was not recognized as a variable in health research, nor was it believed to be a factor that could affect health and illness. Researchers preferred studying males for a variety of reasons, such as simplicity and low costs, concern about confounding effects of hormones and fear of liability to perinatal exposure in cases of pregnancy. In clinical–scientific research, therefore, the theme of sex differences is a recent historical development. However, it is important to achieve equitable representation in order to provide a non-partial view on the course of diseases and its attainment is necessary for determining the safety, effectiveness, and tolerability of drugs for all consumers. Preclinical and clinical research are two important phases in drug discovery and development process. It takes on average between 12 and 16 years to bring a molecule from the laboratory setting to clinical practice. If, during the early stages of preclinical development, a compound is optimized specifically in one sex model (male or female cells or in male or female mice), then any sex biases inherent in such models may be passed forward into later stages of drug development. Neglecting sex research is paradoxical not only because drugs are less studied in the women that use them the most, but also for the enormous quantities of money wasted on research conducted which is focused on a partial point of view. In this Special Issue, we aim to underline preclinical and clinical research from experts in the field of pharmaceuticals that can highlight therapeutic agents use and clinical strategies focused on sex differences. We are especially keen to publish sex-disaggregated data concerning new and old drugs research in order to try to identify future directions to aid in the design of inclusive trials that benefit all.

Dr. Silvia De Francia
Dr. Sarah Allegra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sex
  • differences
  • drugs
  • kinetics
  • dynamics
  • preclinical
  • clinical
  • research

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

19 pages, 380 KiB  
Review
Sex-Related Differences in the Pharmacological Response in SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Dyslipidemia, and Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review
by
Adelina Lombrea
,
Mirabela Romanescu
,
Narcisa Jianu
,
Minodora Andor
,
Maria Suciu
,
Dana Emilia Man
,
Corina Danciu
,
Cristina Adriana Dehelean
and
Valentina Buda
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(6), 853; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16060853 - 07 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1444
Abstract
Pharmacological responses vary by sex in several illnesses. This narrative review summarizes sex variations in pharmaceutical response in SARS-CoV-2 infection, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is more severe and deadly in men than women. This may be attributed to immunological responses, [...] Read more.
Pharmacological responses vary by sex in several illnesses. This narrative review summarizes sex variations in pharmaceutical response in SARS-CoV-2 infection, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is more severe and deadly in men than women. This may be attributed to immunological responses, genetics, and hormones. Some research shows that men may respond better to genomic vaccinations and females to antiviral medications such as remdesivir (Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech). In dyslipidemia, women tend to have greater HDL-C and lower LDL-C than men. Some studies show that females may need lower statin dosages than men to obtain equal LDL-C reductions. Ezetimibe co-administered with a statin significantly improved lipid profile indicators in men compared to women. Statins reduce dementia risk. Atorvastatin decreased dementia risk in males (adjusted HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88–0.97), whereas lovastatin lowered dementia risk in women (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58–0.95). In diabetes mellitus, evidence suggests that females may have a higher risk of developing certain complications such as diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, despite having lower rates of cardiovascular disease than males. This could be the result of differences in hormonal influences and genetic factors. Some research shows females may respond better to oral hypoglycemic medications such as metformin. In conclusion, sex-related differences in pharmacological response have been observed in SARS-CoV-2 infection, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. Further research is needed to better understand these differences and to develop personalized treatment strategies for males and females with these conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sex Differences in Pharmaceutical Practice)
19 pages, 394 KiB  
Review
Evaluation of Sex Differences in Preclinical Pharmacology Research: How Far Is Left to Go?
by
Sarah Allegra
,
Francesco Chiara
,
Daniela Di Grazia
,
Marco Gaspari
and
Silvia De Francia
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(6), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16060786 - 24 May 2023
Viewed by 2126
Abstract
Until the last quarter of the 20th century, sex was not recognized as a variable in health research, nor was it believed to be a factor that could affect health and illness. Researchers preferred studying male models for a variety of reasons, such [...] Read more.
Until the last quarter of the 20th century, sex was not recognized as a variable in health research, nor was it believed to be a factor that could affect health and illness. Researchers preferred studying male models for a variety of reasons, such as simplicity, lower costs, hormone confounding effects, and fear of liability from perinatal exposure in case of pregnancy. Equitable representation is imperative for determining the safety, effectiveness, and tolerance of therapeutic agents for all consumers. Decades of female models’ underrepresentation in preclinical studies has resulted in inequality in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease between the sexes. Sex bias has been highlighted as one of the contributing factors to the poor translation and replicability of preclinical research. There have been multiple calls for action, and the inclusion of sex as a biological variable is increasingly supported. However, although there has been substantial progress in the efforts to include more female models in preclinical studies, disparities today remain. In the present review, we consider the current standard practice of the preclinical research setting, why the sex bias exists, why there is the need to include female models, and what risks may arise from continuing this exclusion from experimental design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sex Differences in Pharmaceutical Practice)
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