New research indicates that oestrogen levels, which vary across the menstrual cycle, can influence how efficiently some drugs reach the brain in women.
Illana Gozes at Tel Aviv University led a reanalysis of Davunetide, an experimental drug derived from Activity-Dependent Neuroprotective Protein. The compound failed to show overall benefit in a 2014 trial for progressive supranuclear palsy, prompting the original developer to halt work.
When results were separated by sex, women appeared to experience slower disease progression and fewer symptoms such as difficulty swallowing. Mouse experiments and measurements in eight adult volunteers further showed higher drug concentrations in the head and plasma when oestrogen levels were elevated.
Gozes, now vice president of drug development at ExoNavis Therapeutics in Tel Aviv, said the company plans sex-stratified trials for ADNP syndrome and progressive supranuclear palsy. Jens Pahnke of the University of Oslo noted that hormonal status is seldom tracked in trials, calling it a significant oversight.
The findings were published in Genomic Psychiatry.
