Medication proves more effective when prescribed based on gender

The drugs your doctor prescribes to treat your high blood pressure could be more effective if they were best suited for your gender. 

In a study using the world’s first computational female kidney model, developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo, high blood pressure medication was shown to be more effective when gender was taken into consideration.

“We found that the mechanics of the kidney are quite different between males and females even though they accomplish the same goals, including stabilizing blood pressure,” said Anita Layton, professor of Applied Mathematics, Pharmacy and Biology at Waterloo.

“Because the kidney plays a major role in blood pressure regulation, sex differences in kidney function likely reflects on sex differences in blood pressure regulation, and perhaps the fact that men generally have higher blood pressure and are at greater risk for heart and kidney diseases.”

Read the full press release.