Citation

Späni CB, Braun DJ, Van Eldik LJ. Front. Neuroendocrinol. 2018; 50: 52-66.

Affiliation

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, 101 Sanders-Brown Bldg., 800 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA; Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC), University of Kentucky, B481, BBSRB, 741 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA; Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, UK Medical Center MN 150, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. Electronic address: linda.vaneldik@uky.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.006

PMID

29753798

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has historically been viewed as a primarily male problem, since men are more likely to experience a TBI because of more frequent participation in activities that increase risk of head injuries. This male bias is also reflected in preclinical research where mostly male animals have been used in basic and translational science. However, with an aging population in which TBI incidence is increasingly sex-independent due to falls, and increasing female participation in high-risk activities, the attention to potential sex differences in TBI responses and outcomes will become more important. These considerations are especially relevant in designing preclinical animal models of TBI that are more predictive of human responses and outcomes. This review characterizes sex differences following TBI with a special emphasis on the contribution of the female sex hormones, progesterone and estrogen, to these differences. This information is potentially important in developing and customizing TBI treatments.

Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Traumatic brain injury; estrogen; female; inflammation; male; neurodegeneration; progesterone; sex difference; vasculature