Researchers at the University of Missouri will study why female blood vessels are less susceptible than male cells to the impacts of stroke.
Dr. Charles Norton, an assistant professor at the MU School of Medicine, received the $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
"The number one cause of adult disability is stroke," Norton said, "and our goal is to investigate new treatment avenues to identify the protective benefits women possess, and how we can not only enhance those benefits but provide those same protections to men."
Norton’s previous research found that women’s cells possess qualities protecting them from harmful oxygen derivatives that kill blood vessel cells after a stroke. He believes the secret involves the regulation of calcium.
The research has found that when women's bodies protect against calcium overload, energy producing systems in the harmful cells experience damage and undergo cell death.