A new discovery may change the way men and women with diabetes are medically treated in the future.
Researchers from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., wanted to know if early changes in the arteries of diabetic animals differ by sex. They tested the theory on male and female rats with induced diabetes.
Eight weeks after the study began, researchers measured how the rats’ blood vessels reacted to phenylephrine (Sudafed PE), a decongestant that increases blood pressure, and acetylcholine, a chemical that decreases blood pressure.
Researchers report in the early stages of diabetes, rats of both sexes had significant decreases in how responsive their blood vessels were to acetylcholine. However, female rats had an increased response to phenylephrine while the male rats did not.
Lead researcher Adam Mitchell was quoted as saying, “These findings show the importance of sex differences to understanding development of vascular problems early in diabetes and has implications on potential sex-specific therapeutic intervention.”
SOURCE: Sex and Gender in Cardiovascular-Renal Physiology and Pathophysiology Meeting in Austin, Texas, Aug. 9 to 12, 2007