Patten Richard D
Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Tufts-New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, , , Email:
Drug Discov Today Dis Models. 2007;4(4):227-232. doi: 10.1016/j.ddmod.2007.11.002.
Clinical observations made over several decades support the existence of gender differences in cardiovascular disease prevalence and severity. For example, women exhibit a delay in the onset of vascular disease compared to men and the temporal link between menopause and the rise in vascular events in women suggests that ovarian hormones may be important in reducing the risk of vascular disease in women. Gender differences have also been observed in the severity and outcome of myocardial diseases such that women with heart failure have a better prognosis than men coupled with gender-specific patterns of ventricular remodeling. These clinical observations have fostered great interest in understanding the mechanisms of gender differences in cardiovascular diseases with the goal being to identify novel therapeutic targets. The purpose of this review is to describe animal models of cardiovascular disease that have demonstrated clear gender differences in the pathophysiologic responses to a given stimulus. Animal models from two broad areas of cardiovascular investigation will be highlighted: vascular disease and heart failure.
几十年来的临床观察结果支持心血管疾病的患病率和严重程度存在性别差异这一观点。例如，与男性相比，女性血管疾病的发病时间有所延迟，而且女性绝经与血管事件增加之间的时间联系表明，卵巢激素可能对降低女性患血管疾病的风险具有重要作用。在心肌病的严重程度和预后方面也观察到了性别差异，例如患有心力衰竭的女性比男性预后更好，同时还存在特定性别的心室重塑模式。这些临床观察结果激发了人们对了解心血管疾病性别差异机制的浓厚兴趣，目标是确定新的治疗靶点。本综述的目的是描述心血管疾病的动物模型，这些模型已证明在对特定刺激的病理生理反应中存在明显的性别差异。将重点介绍心血管研究两个广泛领域的动物模型：血管疾病和心力衰竭。
