Modelling female physiology from head to Toe: Impact of sex hormones, menstrual cycle, and pregnancy.

Men and women exhibit notable differences not only in the reproductive system and reproductive behaviors, but in many other organ and physiological systems as well. Notable examples include; the stress and immune systems, the anatomy of the brain, and the metabolic and cardiovascular functions. Furthermore, female physiology is affected by the menstrual cycle and by pregnancy and lactation. If we are to successfully develop effective sex-based therapies, we must attain a comprehensive understanding of the effects of sex hormones, the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy on physiological function. By analyzing experimental findings, mathematical modelling can play a major role in facilitating and contributing to advancing the understanding of sex differences in physiology and pathophysiology. In this review, we present a survey of existing sex-specific modelling studies of physiological systems, describe the impact of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, and discuss future modelling opportunities.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.