Barbara Giesser

Elizabeth Gerard

Hrayr Attarian

Jan Brandes

Rima Dafer

Behavioural Neurology

PubMed

Crossref

EditorialSex Differences in the Study of Neurological IllnessesHrayr Attarian,1 Jan Brandes,2 Rima Dafer,3 Elizabeth Gerard,1 and Barbara Giesser41Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA2Nashville Neuroscience Group, Nashville, TN 37203, USA3Northshore University HealthSystem, Glenview, IL 60026, USA4UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USACorrespondence should be addressed to Hrayr Attarian; hrayr.attarian@nm.orgReceived 12 November 2015; Accepted 12 November 2015Copyright © 2015 Hrayr Attarian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.There are clear sex based neurophysiological differences inbrain structure and function. These impact both healthyindividuals and those with neurological and psychiatricdisorders. It is well documented that these diseases affectwomen differently from men. Many of these sex differencesremain unknown and underrecognized. In addition, hor-monal changes and fluctuations during awoman’s lifespan aresignificantlymore numerous andmore complex than inmen.These hormonal changes can impact the pathogenesis andthe clinical presentation of neurological illness as well asa woman’s response to treatment. There are definite sexand gender differences in prevalence of various neurologicalillnesses, in the incidence of psychiatric comorbidities, and inthe therapeutic responses to various pharmacological andnonpharmacological interventions.For instance, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s dis-ease (PD), multiple sclerosis (MS), and other neurodegener-ative illnesses have different prevalence and distinct presen-tation in women compared to men. Depression, both on itsown and as a comorbid condition with neurological illnesses,has a gender specific presentation, impact, and therapeuticresponse. Antiepileptic drugs and other neurological med-ications can interact with hormonal contraception causingunplanned pregnancies. Hormonal contraception can impactrisk of stroke, and migraine headaches fluctuate throughoutthemenstrual period.There are reports ofMS symptoms fluc-tuating in response to different phases of the menstrual cycle.Sleep disorders increase in pregnancy and menopause andcan affect the health of mother and fetus in the former andsignificantly reduce quality of life in the latter. There are alsocomplex issues of managing specific disorders such asmigraines, epilepsy, restless legs syndrome, andmultiple scle-rosis (MS) in pregnancy. Last but not least stroke, the thirdcause of death worldwide, has very unique sex and genderbased symptomatology and semiology.Despite these distinctions, there is a dearth of research inspecific aspects of neurology as it relates to women’s health.Often in clinical trials the data is not specifically separated bygender.We invited authors to submit original research, caseseries, case reports, or review papers that address this dis-parity of research in women and look into neurologic andbehavioral sex based changes in healthy individuals, the spe-cific pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric illnesses in women,epidemiological and health based social disparities, and thedifferential effect of therapeutic interventions in women.After rigorous peer review we decided to include eightpapers in this special issue. These cover gender differences inneurodegenerative diseases likeAD and PD aswell as sex spe-cific interface of cognitive function and mood disorders. Wealso included articles on gender specific burden of MS care,sex differences in childhood neuroborreliosis, and behavioralsymptoms in Prader-Willi syndrome. Lastly two intriguingcontributions were also accepted for publication and theseare on the role of estrogen deficiency in subarachnoid hem-orrhage and the role of gender in sociosexuality of infidelityafter traumatic brain injury.In summary this special edition of this journal includes awide range of papers addressing the sex and gender dif-ferences in neuropsychiatric pathophysiology and care. WeHindawi Publishing CorporationBehavioural NeurologyVolume 2015, Article ID 676531, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/6765312 Behavioural Neurologyhope it will increase awareness of these sex and gender basedvariations in the presentation of neurologic illness and carein the medical community.Hrayr AttarianJan BrandesRima DaferElizabeth GerardBarbara GiesserSubmit your manuscripts athttp://www.hindawi.comStem CellsInternationalHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014MEDIATORSINFLAMMATIONofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Behavioural NeurologyEndocrinologyInternational Journal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Disease MarkersHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014BioMed Research InternationalOncologyJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Oxidative Medicine and Cellular LongevityHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014PPAR ResearchThe Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Journal ofObesityJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 Computational and  Mathematical Methods in MedicineOphthalmologyJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Diabetes ResearchJournal ofHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Research and TreatmentAIDSHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Gastroenterology Research and PracticeHindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014Parkinson’s DiseaseEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttp://www.hindawi.com

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