A woman is not the same as a man, at least from a medical perspective. Each sex may respond differently to the same disease and the same medications. Dr. Kinga Szydłowska from the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, during this year’s Science Festival, explained in a simple way the historical context of serious mistakes made during medical research in the 20th century and their very dangerous contemporary consequences.

Sex can influence the risk and course of diseases such as autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, or multiple sclerosis, as well as the way drugs are metabolized. These topics were the main focus of Dr. Szydłowska’s lecture. In one example - where medications acted differently in both sexes - the drug was eliminated from men’s bodies after just two hours, whereas in women it remained for two days. In another experiment, high concentrations of a popular sleeping pill persisted longer in women’s bodies, causing impaired psychomotor skills even the following morning, which in real life could lead to an increased number of car accidents, including fatal ones.

For those who couldn’t attend the lecture, we have prepared a video summarizing its main points as well as an interesting presentation to review.

Prezentacja