title: Sex differences in the immune response to experimental stroke: Implications for translational research.
abstract: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. It is known that males and females respond differently to stroke. Depending on age, the incidence, prevalence, mortality rate, and disability outcome of stroke differ between the sexes. Females generally have strokes at older ages than males and, therefore, have a worse stroke outcome. There are also major differences in how the sexes respond to stroke at the cellular level. Immune response is a critical factor in determining the progress of neurodegeneration after stroke and is fundamentally different for males and females. Additionally, females respond to stroke therapies differently from males, yet they are often left out of the basic research that is focused on developing those therapies. With a resounding failure to translate stroke therapies from the bench to the bedside, it is clearer than ever that inclusion of both sexes in stroke studies is essential for future clinical success. This Mini-Review examines sex differences in the immune response to experimental stroke and its implications for therapy development. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Research, Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon.|Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Abby L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dotson
authors.affiliation: Neuroimmunology Research, Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon.|Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.|Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Halina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Offner
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000209:etiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D020521:Stroke / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones
keywords: experimental stroke; immune response; infarct volume; neuroinflammation; sex difference; therapy