00:00We need to talk about the Mea Culpa, which Science, the most prestigious scientific journal in the world, has just made.
00:05For the first time in its 146-year history, in addition to dedicating a special issue to the health of
00:11women,
00:12Yes, the first one also accepted that science has not dedicated enough time and effort to studying our bodies.
00:19And the question it leaves us with is, how do we get to 2026 without resolving all those questions about the
00:25health of half the population?
00:27Because for almost the entire history of modern medicine, research treated the human body as
00:33single reference
00:34and extrapolated those results to our bodies.
00:36The truth is that this is not a recent discovery; women were excluded from many clinical trials.
00:42because hormonal variations were thought to complicate the results and there were risks if there was a pregnancy.
00:48Or rather, because we only matter because of our reproductive capacity.
00:52In the United States, a 1977 recommendation restricted participation to women capable of becoming pregnant.
00:59of certain phases of drug research.
01:03And what was the result?
01:04Because in trying to avoid certain risks, knowledge of how their bodies responded to certain medications was also limited.
01:12The inclusion of our bodies in medical research was finally formalized back in 1993.
01:18Even that did not guarantee that relevant medical differences were analyzed or that the studies had the necessary design to identify them.
01:26And what were the consequences of all those years of lack of information?
01:29An example is what happened in 2013 when the FDA recommended reducing the initial dose of solpidem in women,
01:36a sleeping pill.
01:37Because studies showed that they could eliminate it more slowly and retain effects that affected their ability to drive.
01:44the following morning.
01:45The drug had been on the market for almost 20 years.
01:48And let's not even talk about the questions that have been investigated.
01:51In 2013, a medical journal published a study that assessed how attractive women with [unclear - possibly "face" or "skin"] were to men.
01:58rectovaginal endometriosis.
02:00Yes, a group of researchers set out to rate the attractiveness of women with a disease that can cause
02:05a lot of pain and affecting the quality of life.
02:08But anyway, let's get back to the Science edition.
02:10What does it tell us, and how is it helping to fill all these gaps in science?
02:14One of the articles addresses chronic pain.
02:17It is known that women suffer from conditions such as fibromyalgia, migraine, and endometriosis.
02:22The research is identifying how hormones, the immune system, and nervous circuits intervene in different ways in the
02:28pain.
02:29They say that understanding that could help develop more targeted treatments.
02:33Another article asks what happens to the ovaries after menopause.
02:38Basically trying to debunk the idea that after this stage they are useless.
02:42Obviously when it comes to reproduction.
02:44They could continue to influence our long-term health.
02:47Researchers are studying which biological activities they preserve and what effects they have.
02:52The special also explains how the X and Y chromosomes can influence aging, the body's defenses, and
02:58the risk of developing certain diseases.
03:00Its effects go beyond hormones.
03:03For example, a stronger immune response can help the body fight some infections.
03:08But it can also cause the body's defenses to mistakenly attack its own tissues, as happens with autoimmune diseases.
03:15These are all questions that remain open.
03:17The edition does not present definitive answers about chronic pain, menopause, or autoimmune diseases.
03:24Rather, it gathers evidence and points out the mechanisms that need further investigation.
03:29That's why it's important that Sáenz acknowledges this debt, of course.
03:32The exclusion of women and the generalization of the results obtained in men left gaps that hinder understanding
03:38of their illnesses and treatments.
03:40Now, the challenge is to translate this recognition into funding, well-designed studies, and evidence-based treatments.
03:48Why not? Our bodies are not only relevant when our ability to conceive is at risk.
03:54Surprise! We are complex human beings and can also develop processes and diseases that are not directly related to our ability
04:01of gestating.
04:02What do you think? We read your comments.
