Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2018 Sep-Oct;18(5):292-294.
doi: 10.5698/1535-7597.18.5.292.

Let's Talk About Sex: Integrating Sex as a Biological Variable Into Epilepsy Research

Lia D Ernst  1
Affiliations
Comment

Let's Talk About Sex: Integrating Sex as a Biological Variable Into Epilepsy Research

Lia D Ernst. Epilepsy Curr. 2018 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

There is a long history of underrepresentation of women and female animals being studied in scientific research, which has resulted in gaps in knowledge and at times, inaccurate clinical recommendations. There is a gradual shift in the mindset of the scientific community on this issue, in part related to policy changes enacted by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Sex must now be accounted for as a biological variable in both basic and clinical research. This review discusses the history of evolving policies on inclusion of sex-informed data in scientific research, and the ways in which epilepsy researchers can approach future studies in a manner that takes sex as a biological variable into account.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Gulati M, Shaw LJ, Bairey Merz CN. Myocardial ischemia in women: lessons from the NHLBI WISE study. Clin Cardiol. 2012;35:141–148. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Reis SE, Holubkov R, Smith AC, Kelsey SF, Sharaf BL, Reichek N, Rogers WJ, Merz CN, Sopko G, Pepine CJ, for the WISE investigators Coronary microvascular dysfunction is highly prevalent in women with chest pain in the absence of coronary artery disease: results from the NHLBI WISE study. Am Heart J. 2001;141:735–741. - PubMed
    1. Wizemann TM. Sex-specific Reporting of Scientific Research: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2012. - PubMed
    1. Vidaver RM, Lafleur B, Tong C, Bradshaw R, Marts SA. Women subjects in NIH-funded clinical research literature: lack of progress in both representation and analysis by sex. J Womens Health Gend Based Med. 2000;9:495–504. - PubMed
    1. Food and Drug Administration General Considerations for the Clinical Evaluation of Drugs in Infants and Children. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Library; 1977.

LinkOut - more resources