The term “mice” refers to the research subjects used by researchers for experiments. For half a century, scientists have conducted experiments on research models ranging from mice to primates, using almost exclusively males. Now, scientists are realizing that research done on such a basis has led to a number of problems.
American neurologist Rebecca Shansky said that scientists generally believe that women are more “emotional and unstable” under the influence of the biological cycle, which can complicate the research problem, so it is not suitable for research subjects. Since the 19th century, this concept has influenced the field of scientific research, researchers have always preferred males for research.
“The primary reason for not using female animals for research is that the effects of female hormones complicate many factors, especially when studying the female animal brain.” Shansky said. That said, almost all studies of the brain have been based on the brains of male animals.
Now, a number of problems have been seen as a result of this, including apparent differences in the effectiveness of drug treatments for both sexes, as well as differences in misdiagnosis rates for some diseases between the sexes.
Over the past few decades, drugs developed by drug labs everywhere, especially those for psychiatric disorders related to depression and anxiety, have been found to be less effective when used on women. And women are affected by these psychiatric problems at a higher rate than men.
Another example is the drug Ambien (Ambien), a sleep aid, which produces much greater side effects in women than in men after taking it. Shansky said, “It was later found that the dose taken by women could only be half that taken by men, because men and women do differ greatly in metabolism.” The guideline dose for taking the drug was finally modified in 2013.
Some drugs work better for men than for women, like the common over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs paracetamol (paracetamol) and naproxen (Naproxen); others are effective for women, like the drug acitrophen (Alosetron) for acute diarrhea, which doesn’t work well for most men.
Researchers are now also seeing that conditions like heart disease and ADHD (hyperactivity disorder) are misdiagnosed at a higher rate in women than in men. There are also differences in how many diseases hit the male and female bodies, such as the now-popular Covid-19 (CCA virus). Data show that men who are infected are three times more likely than women to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This urgently requires researchers to take gender differences into account in their studies.
In a study published March 1 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Shansky suggested that researchers will not be able to address these issues if they always study only males.
The idea that “females are more complicated to study” is outdated, Shansky said. In fact, male mice also have hormonal changes, depending on whether they are in a dominant position, and their testosterone levels can fluctuate between one and five times.
Shansky called for the time to focus on this issue and urged researchers around the world to act together to change this research culture.
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