Dear Colleagues,

Gender medicine is a critical component in the development of personalized medicine and patient-centered care. Gender and sex differences are evident in the epidemiology, presentation, outcomes, and treatments of many diseases. Thus, understanding such gender-based differences is essential to achieve a holistic approach to the treatment of disease.

In studying the differences between female and male cells, data indicates that female cells have a higher capacity to overcome cellular stress through the induction of protective mechanisms, such as autophagy, and antioxidant defenses when compared to cells from males. However, until few years ago, most research was conducted without taking into account gender-specific differences in the experimental approaches used.

A prominent example is the biological significance of sex hormones, such as oestrogens and androgens, on disease pathogenesis.  These hormones have been shown to modulate immune response and this impacts gender-associated susceptibility to disease.  Going forward, gender-tailored approaches must take into account numerous variables linked to sex including cultural and religious differences, psychosocial factors, varying drug pharmacodynamics, in addition to genetic and biological differences between the sexes.

As personalized medicine and pharmacogenetics are of prominent importance in the practice of medicine, gender medicine and gender-omics are emerging, and vitally important considerations in clinical practice. This Special Issue entitled “Gender-Based and Tailored Approaches to Women’s Health" will focus on gender-based differences at the molecular, cellular, and genetic levels in terms of disease incidence, pathology, physiology, and treatment approaches between males and females.

Dr. Giuseppe Gullo, Prof. Dr.  Simona Zaami and Prof. Dr.  Gaspare Cucinella

Guest Editors