title: Platelet biology and response to antiplatelet therapy in women: implications for the development and use of antiplatelet pharmacotherapies for cardiovascular disease.
abstract: Women are underrepresented in cardiovascular studies, even as their preponderance in the aging population steadily increases. Although concerns have been raised about the differential benefit of antiplatelet medications for women, the propensity for increased bleeding among women has also been recognized. A better understanding of the factors contributing to the observed sex-related differences in platelet biology is warranted. These factors include differences in the frequency and expression of genetic polymorphisms affecting platelet responsiveness to agonists (with and without antiplatelet therapies), which might be obtained through population-based studies and in large controlled clinical trials; inflammatory marker levels and their influence on atherothrombotic risk, and the role of specific hormones in mediating platelet activation and function. Knowledge gained about these mechanistic factors might inform the development of sex-specific antithrombotic treatment regimens that confer optimized safety and efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, USA. tracy.wang@duke.edu
authors.forename: Tracy Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dominick J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Angiolillo
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cushman
authors.forename: Marc S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sabatine
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Bray
authors.forename: Susan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: Harold L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Dauerman
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D015507:Drugs, Investigational; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors