Researchers Investigate Differing Traumatic Brain Injury Rates And Outcomes Between The Sexes

Perhaps surprisingly, data indicates that men and women may progress differently after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

News-Medica.net reports that Eva Valera, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School Boston, and her colleagues, have identified research opportunities to substitute female animals for male animals and study the differences in TBI response. For example, that there is evidence that when a traumatic brain injury coincides with a woman’s menstrual cycle, the effects may be worse when the victim’s body is experiencing high progesterone, which tends to occur during the luteal phase of the cycle. 

Another opportunity researchers have identified is to include more female service members in longitudinal research studies in order to study preliminary differences in sex-related TBI symptoms.

Studies not only indicate that the effects of TBI and recovery may be different between men and women, but also TBI injury rates differ between males and females. One study revealed that while boys aged 0-4 were twice as likely as girls to suffer a TBI, female athletes were more likely to suffer a concussion than male athletes. And in the 65 and older group, too, women are more likely to suffer TBI than men. This can be attributed to the effects of women falling and hitting their heads at a higher rate than men.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious traumatic brain injury due to someone else’s negligence, contact us today. We will lead you on the journey to justice. We will show you the way. We will explain the process, what we have done, and what we will do. Take our hand and walk with us. We have a team ready for you now.