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